Chapter 6
November 1987: The Rising Run Orphanage, London
With all of his experiences, Alan has the confidence to say that no matter how much you plan or how well-crafted your plan is, there will always be some unexpected things happening along the way! And that's exactly what he's going through lately. He loves to say that despite not being the most stick-to-the-plan kind of person, he really tries his best to follow the plan—the one that he creates all by himself—to the letter! But noooo, life has other plans for him; something just has to happen, forcing him to change the plan. However, to be true to himself, it's unexpected, but not unwelcome!
The first thing that makes him adjust the plan is nothing else than the white raven that's now under his care, or, should he say, under Mr. John's care, as he has no licence to keep it. The raven that he names Muninn, he knows, he is such a basic, boring person that would name their raven after the names of Odin's infamous ravens: Hugnin and Muninn. No matter how cringe anyone finds it, Alan, however, finds it very fitting. Because, while Hugnin represents the Thought, Muninn, on the other hand, represents the Memory, and Alan has nothing but memories as he lived a life before this lifetime.
People used to say that memories and knowledge are what shape who we are, and 35 years of memories are a very long journey with both good and bad memories that define who Alan is. Those good and bad memories are like treasures to him and him alone. That's also why Alan scares shitless of Dumbledore! Nevertheless, he knows there will be many memories to come in this lifetime, and they, without a doubt, will shape him into a different person than he used to be. He is already a different person now! No one can be the same after finding out that there is magic exists in this world and Alan has no idea if becoming a different person is a good thing or a bad thing, but he's sure he'll make the best of it.
So, with the intention of showing appreciation for his past life and all the old and upcoming memories, Alan names his white raven after one of Odin's infamous ravens—Muninn! Oh wait, it's not a "little" raven anymore; it now opens its eyes and starts to become really active...and vocal!
Speaking of Muninn, he is correct that after only 3 days of being under his care, Muninn opens its eyes! One day after he comes back from school while feeding Muninn some meat he takes from the kitchen, suddenly...Muninn opens his eyes and looks straight at him. Alan doesn't know how to describe it, but at that moment, he feels like he's being entrusted to raise and protect a small, hopeless being that trusts him with all his faith as it sees him as its mom. Alan has raised cats, dogs, and other animals before, but he never raised a bird, and he never had a chance to witness the moment of a bird opening its eyes and imprinting the first living creature it sees.
Absorbing the fact that Muninn is now under his care for quite a while, Alan, once again, goes into his deep hyperfocus mode to research the hell out of everything involving ravens and birds in general. From what he has learned so far, Alan knows for a fact that a human-imprinted bird is not a really good thing. That's why there are special precautions to prevent them from inappropriately imprinting on humans. It's also the reason why, while taking care of Muninn, he has been intentionally trying very hard to not let it happen. But it seems like the universe disagrees with him and just has to make his life difficult!
Having white feathers is already a disadvantage, but now imprinting on a human? Oh dear... Alan truly isn't so sure whether this little fella will be able to be reintroduced back to the wild or not. Feeling a long lecture from Mr. John coming, Alan pays it no mind as there is something much more important happening. Somehow, Alan feels an invisible but firm connection forming from deep inside his heart to Munnin's. Alan swears that magic has to be involved somehow because right now, at this moment, he can feel the connection between them lingering somewhere in the air. It's like there is an invisible, silky threat linking them together that he is unable to touch or see but only feels if he concentrates enough. That connection, if he's being honest, although unexpected is really welcome as it helps him immensely at raising Munnin.
Alan can now understand—or, in a better word, "feel"—what Muninn wants to communicate with him and it's wonderful! But there is more, the link goes both ways, meaning Muninn can also understand him as well! Needless to say, Mr. John is super surprised by how much Muninn trusts him and understands everything he says as Muninn follows all of his instructions, despite still protests from time to time just like any other son in the world. Being so surprised by how smart Muninn is and how trusting Muninn is to him, Mr. John has to say:
- I can't believe it! I know the Ravens are smart, but Muninn is just...super smart! It has to be magic!
Gods, Alan almost passed out hearing him say this! Fuck! He doesn't know that hiding magic from your close ones can be this hard! How can any other Muggleborn hide magic from their parents? It's absurd how hard it is! Alan truly needs a brochure telling how to hide his magic from Muggles, and he swears he will devour it from letter to letter if he has it!
Oh yeah, by the way, Muninn is a boy! Mr. John helps to check him out. Furthermore, Muninn is finally revealed as a leucism raven and not an albino raven, as his eyes are blue with black pupils and not a deep blood-red colour. But it doesn't matter; Alan still loves him nonetheless. There is already an attachment between them and Alan knows attachment is a bad thing in fostering, but he just can't help it...
The weird thing is, by being able to understand Muninn, Alan knows that Muninn sees him as his mom while he sees him as his son! The weirder part is that Muninn, despite knowing that Alan is a male like him and seeing him as a son, still thinks Alan is his "mom"! After spending days trying to correct him without success, Alan finally gives up. When you have a feathery son who is even more stubborn than you, you just have to compromise with him. Fuck! Alan can now finally understand how his mom feels after hearing him beg for days to have tattoos.
"Sorry Mom, I finally got it" - Alan says quietly.
Well, in both of his lives, Alan goes by he/him/his, and he respects other pronouns, but honestly, he doesn't care much about them. In his past life, despite being gay, his friends still called him "girl", "sister", "mom" and a few other feminine terms, and he's still fine with them. Thus, if his feathery son in this life decides that he is now his mom, then "Mom" it is! However, if Alan is fine with being a mom to a feathery son, then he's sure as hell complaining about having a very "vocal" feathery son!
Raising a pet is never an easy job, as you're responsible for a living being that entrusts its life and well-being to you. That's why Alan wants to warn people that they should really consider everything absolutely, carefully before deciding to keep and raise a very intelligent bird like a raven or owl! Because, let me tell you, they're hard work! Along with being super smart, they're also super vocal!
You see, after opening his eyes to witness the world and his "mom", Muninn is now super excited to express his appreciation and love to the world and especially to his "mom" through speaking and singing! Yup! You heard that right—he fucking sings!
Ravens are already super intelligent birds; you'll be surprised at how smart they can be. Their intelligence is up there with the adult great apes, and we all know that the adult great apes are one of the most intelligent animals on earth. Well, of course, if we don't count the magical creatures that are also currently existing in this world. But still... What Alan means to say is that being a raven alone already makes Muninn super smart, and yet, by some magical factors unknown to Alan, Muninn is now even smarter! You see what he means, right? A super smart raven who has the tendency to speak out everything on his mind! Every-single-thing! It is a disaster!
What do you think if one day you come back from school only to find that your raven son is collecting all the shiny, pretty little things in your room and super vocally demands that you make an aviary for him with said things? And if you decline, your raven son will let out fake crying sounds to tell you how disappointed and sad he is when you don't accommodate his dream!
Or...what do you think if you find out your raven son loves to sing after learning how to sing from you after hearing you sing a song constantly while taking a shower, but with a much worse singing voice? Alan nearly has a heart attack when he hears it for the first time. Because that's not singing! That's constantly croaking over tone-deaf beats and notes. That's noise pollution, and no one can tell him otherwise!
Not to mention that your raven son also loves to play hide and seek with you after successfully learning how to walk to leave the nest. Alan can already feel what a disaster Muninn will be after he learns to fly. Gods have mercy! Only thinking about it is enough to give him a headache. He really needs a drink! What are the legal ages to drink in England again?
Aside from raising Muninn, Alan, of course, doesn't neglect his training. But this time, his training becomes much more complicated. You see, after learning that he's able to transform all of his body parts into animal' features, Alan just can't help but test out how much and how far he can transform. And after many, many hours of testing and training, Alan can proudly say that he finally managed to unlock a new achievement: Werepeople! - The term Alan uses to refer to himself after successfully transforming his nails into claws! Raven's claws, to be exact! He doesn't even know if the term "werepeople" is correct, but it sounds so cool, and Alan doesn't have any other term to use, so... werepeople, it is!
Here is the thing: the first thing that pops up in his mind when thinking about transforming his body parts into animal features, is...Sabretooth—Victor Creed Earth-616!
What can he say? He loves comics, especially the X-men, so, of course, he remembers a lot of things about them. As Alan remembers, Sabretooth is a mutant possessing bestial superhuman abilities, including a rapid healing factor, razor-sharp fangs and claws, and superhuman senses. The thing Alan remembers the most about Sabretooth is the scene where his claw-like nails extend and easily scratch deep into the surface of a table, leaving intimidating claw marks! And that is what Alan wants to achieve!
Normally, to learn something, you will need a mentor and other materials, but sadly, Alan has none! As a result, he has to work with what he has at hand, meaning his dedication and imagination! Which brings him to Sabretooth! To replicate Sabretooth's abilities, the only way Alan can think of is to study, observe, and research everything about the animal that he wants to transform into. Because, let's face it, a lot of modern inventions are animal-inspired. Like the helicopter technology being inspired by hummingbirds and dragonflies. Or, like the Anti-Counterfeiting Money Technology being inspired by butterfly wings by using nanoscale light-interfering structures to create an anti-counterfeiting stamp. Many animals have left humans amazed at their incredible abilities. And to be the best, you have to learn from the best, right? Thus, Alan has to learn it from the animals that he intends to transform into. And the closest and easiest animal that Alan currently has access to to do such things is...Muninn!
After spending countless hours studying and observing Muninn very closely and carefully, combined with nonstop questioning Mr. John all things about birds and losing time in the community library reading all things related to avians, Alan has achieved a remarkable feat: He successfully transforms both of his hands into appendages resembling Raven's feet, complete with razor-sharp, elongated five claws. This transformation also results in a seamless fusion of muscles and nerves from his shoulders to his fingertips, forming an exceptionally dense layer that envelops his bones. The density is so pronounced that when Alan touches it, it feels akin to running his hand across armour crafted from the hide of a formidable monster. With practice, he now can partially transform only his forearms or only his fingers into claws if he wants to.
The first time Alan manages to achieve that feat, he feels like he is on cloud nine with the wonder of magic! There are just no words to describe how fulfilled he is watching his hands seamlessly transform into Raven's claws—pun intended—and back. Admiring his transformed hands, Alan has to admit that they look more like a demon's hands with intimidating claws than ravel's feet; which can easily rip a human's flesh to shreds by using just a little force. Alan can now leave deep claw marks on everything with his claws without even feeling a thing. On the other hand, every time he looks at his transformed hands, he feels a little bit weird about how he knows these are still his hands and he still has perfect control over them despite nothing human about them, and somehow, he is weirdly super proud about it. Alan bets that if he ever needs a happy memory strong enough to cast the Expecto Patronum spell, it will be the one!
One funny thing: the more he studies Munnin, the better he can "feel" what Munnin wants to say. And even funnier is when, despite having the intention of studying Muninn closely and doing everything with this intention without harming Muninn in any way, Muninn, on the other hand, thinks that Alan spends countless hours playing games with him. The moment he realises Muninn is thinking like that, Alan is like: "I'm here trying to study you so hard, and you think we're playing games? Oh my stupid feathery son, you are hopeless!"
To transform his hands into Raven's claws is just the beginning; his end goal is to grow a pair of wings! Yet he knows he won't be able to achieve it now or in the immediate future. Why? Because the human body only has two hands, and a bird's hands are their wings, he doesn't want to transform his hands into wings! He is a wizard, alright? How can he use his wand if his hands turn into wings? Besides, he has no desire to transform into a Harpy! Nope! No way! Not gonna happen in this lifetime.
What he wants to achieve is to become like...Warren Worthington III, Angel of the X-men! God, he really needs to get a life. Anyway...Alan's 100% sure that there is no way he's able to grow at least 50 pieces of bone in total combined with fully supported muscles, nerves, and feathers out of his back without the assistance of much more powerful magic and much better knowledge!
Hence, Alan leaves it, for now, to concentrate on other things, mainly finding a way and a legitimate excuse to get in touch with Andromeda without making her suspicious of him.
Speaking of that! For Merlin's sake! How is it so hard to contact a person? In his past life, all he needed to do when needing to contact a person was just call that person, using a phone! Alan swears to God that when he comes to the Wizarding World and becomes more proficient at magic and magical knowledge, he will sure as hell bring the internet to the Wizarding World and then make a magical smartphone! He doesn't know how or why or if he needs to sell a soul for a demon or anything; he will make it happen! And if the stupid blood-purist says that he taints their world with Muggle's technologies, they can all go hang themselves to death and see if he will waste a breath. Because for fuck's sake, if 1000 years ago, owl-delivered letters were the most innovative invention, well, get what? New flash people, things change!
The reason Alan is so absorbed in mastering his power is because he knows the change is coming! Nope! Scratch that! He knew it would come! He lived and experienced that change! The Wixens will never be able to imagine how far the Muggles can come with their inventions. Even without the marvel of magic, they are still able to walk on the Moon, explore Venus, search deep in the Ocean, go deep beneath the Earth, and someday...they might even inhabit Mars. And all of those achievements, the Wixens can only dream of...
Alan doesn't know how powerful magic can be; he just starts to explore it after all, but Alan knows for a fact that one day the Muggles will have cameras in every city, every street, and almost every place in the world. And one day, Muggle's satellites will find out about the Wizarding World, and when that time comes, Alan just can't even imagine what's gonna happen... And it will not be for long from now—only about 35 years—and then modern technologies will take over the world. When it happens, the Wizarding World won't have anywhere to hide, and Alan doesn't want to stand between two races and then perish in a crossfire. Nope! Not gonna happen! He has to do something, right? In his mind, there are some crazy, unrealistic ideas, but still...and to bring these ideas to life, Alan will need more time and much, much more magical knowledge. But for now, Alan has to deal with the matter at hand first, named...Hermione Granger!
Let's just say that his plans currently have nothing that needs to involve Hermione Granger, but sometimes things just work out in unexpected ways, and you have to deal with it no matter if you like it or not. Because there she is, waving her hand at him as Alan steps off the bus, arriving at school. Seeing Hermione Granger run straight to him while her bushy brown hair flows in all directions in the air, Alan can't help but look up at the sky, take a deep breath, exhale, and then let out a genuine smile greeting her. What can he say? They are friend now!
How does it happen, you ask? Well, to answer this question, Alan has to explain something first. You see, aside from practising his power and raising Muninn, he also has to attend school. When it comes to school, Garden Suburb Junior School is the closest public school to the Rising Sun orphanage. Understandably, all the kids from the orphanage come here when they come of age.
Currently, there are 7 kids, including Alan, enrolling in this school. One thing you should understand is that humans are social creatures. Meaning that they cannot live all by themselves without communicating with their own races. They will go mad if they do so. Or if they don't go mad, there has to be something wrong with them. Alan is sure of it!
They will find a group or a community with matched personality traits and interests; to grow, nourish with, and especially to be protected by said community. No matter if it's animals or humans, we find strength in numbers. A lone wolf will die fast, but a whole pack of wolves will survive for a long time. A single tiger can rule a jungle, but a pack of wolves can kill it if they really mean so. And let's just say that all the kids in the orphanage take this metaphor to heart.
Even though Madame Maxime makes every effort to protect the orphanage children from the harm of the outside world, life still finds a way to teach them the harsh realities. Life teaches them the lesson that being an orphan is a disadvantage. Life teaches them the lesson that they're an easy target for the bully and other monsters out there wearing human skins. Life teaches them that if they're not stuck together, other people will pick them apart and then destroy them. With all of these lessons, all the orphans know that no matter how much they hate each other or how many times they fight with each other, they must show the outside world that they are one! That they are not to mess with!
So, just a day after Alan enrols in the school, all the other older kids show up to escort him to the class, showing everyone in the school that he is not alone, that he is under their protection, and that if anyone wants to mess with Alan, they will deal with all 6 of them as well.
With all due respect, Alan doesn't need their protection; have you seen his claws? Or do you remember his hair? Yeah, those! If someone decides to mess with him, they will find one hell of a surprise, and Alan will personally make sure that the one who messes with him will never be able to mess with anyone else...ever again! Kids or not! But needless to say, Alan still appreciates the sentiment of their actions. "Madame Maxime really teaches them well"-Alan tells himself. As a result, like an unspoken rule, other students won't even dare bother him or any of the orphans. But that rule, sadly, won't apply to Hermione Granger.
Alan isn't sure if he remembers correctly, but he thinks the Hermione Granger of this universe is quite alike, but much smarter, to the Hermione Granger in the books. She is really energetic; she talks a lot and by a lot, he means that if she talks about something she likes, she will talk nonstop without even taking a break to catch a breath. She is a little posh, and from time to time, she likes to tell you all about the things she learns with a very "posh-y" tone, which will come off as rude as other people like to think that she is showing off her intelligence. However, one thing overshadows everything else about Hermione Granger for Alan: she is unquestionably brilliant!
People call Alan a genius for placing first in school, in every activity that he takes part in, and for running a successful business at the age of 7. But they don't know that the reason for all of these achievements is because he has the mind of a 35-year-old grown man and the discipline to back them up. Alan admits that in this lifetime, he is so much smarter than he used to be. Alan suspects that there is magic involved! He has a theory that, because the brain of a 7-year-old child cannot handle all 35 years of memories, his magic somehow works its wonder to help his brain accommodate all of his past life memories, knowledge, and experiences! And by doing so, his magic also indirectly increases his intelligence along the way.
Currently, even though he doesn't have an eidetic memory, it's still very close! He can still easily remember a lot of information after studying it for only a short amount of time and can recall all the information in his mind if he wants to. This ability helps him immensely with studying and other things in life, especially with this power and training, and he can't thank all the gods and goddesses enough to bestow it on him.
What he means to say is...there are some unexpected marvelous things that happened to him, making him a genius, but Hermione Granger? She was born a genius!
Can you imagine an 8-year-old girl having the same intelligence on par with a 35-year-old grown man? A man who has a mind that's already upgraded with magic? Well, here comes the one and only—Hermione Granger! Her memory is just as brilliant as his! She has an almost perfect memory that helps her remember everything she likes to learn. And she learns a lot!
To be honest, although he learns to love her after finishing all 7 books and 8 movies, Alan has to admit that his first impression of Hermione Granger is not a really good one. She is too loud and bossy; she has too much trust in authority figures and likes to boast her knowledge gained from reading too many books to someone's face.
With all due respect, Alan truly loves reading and learning new knowledge about some things he likes. Still, as he knows no one likes to feel inferior to someone else for not knowing as much as them, Alan will not boast his knowledge to anyone if not being asked directly. That's just not how you do it. You just cannot judge a fish for being so bad at climbing a tree. It's not a fish's expertise. Just like you cannot judge a monkey for being bad at swimming and not as well as a fish. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Just because someone isn't good at studying, learning something, or reading as much as you, it doesn't mean they aren't smart.
To Alan, there are many types of intelligence, not just IQ. To name a few, there are Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Linguistic Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence, Intrapersonal Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Visual-Spatial Intelligence, Bodily-Kinaesthetic Intelligence, Naturalist Intelligence, and Existential Intelligence. Humans are fundamental creatures, so people will find that they might have one or multiple intelligences at the same time, and even if someone doesn't have any types of these intelligences in them, it's still alright! Being smart doesn't mean everything. To Alan, being kind is what really stands out the most.
[https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/pbis-prague/news/2020/12/09/the-nine-types-of-intelligence—I used this article for reference].
Don't get him wrong; Alan doesn't mean to say that Hermione Granger is not kind; she's kind; she's just being a kid without knowing any better and also has many insecurities; he learns to love her so much after reading 7 books and watching 8 movies after all. However, after sharing the same class with Hermione Granger for almost two months, Alan now understands why she acts the way she does. Mostly, it's because she is a people-pleaser and she wants to seek the approval of her parents and teachers.
In some ways, life is very fair: if you want something, you have to give up other things in return. There are prices for everything, and sacrifices must be made sometimes.
You see, Mr. Dave and Mrs. Evelyn Granger are very well-known proficient dentists, and they love their only daughter - Hermione Granger - very much. Wanting to provide Hermione with all the best things in life, they work really hard, and their hard work truly pays off as their dental clinic is very well-known in the area and their reputation is also very popular. Most people in the area, and even other areas, come to their clinic when they need a professional dentist to check up on their teeth. Alan knows Mr John went to their dental clinic a few times and praises their skills highly and he is not the one who praises someone easily!
People might not know this, but being a dentist, especially a proficient well-known dentist in 1987, is a very well-respected profession. And those who manage to open their own dental clinic will be able to earn a lot of money if they do it right. And the Granger? They do it right! In other words, Hermione Granger's parents are rich!
Being the only daughter, Hermione Granger is really a little princess who has everything she ever wants and more, as Mister and Miss Granger will give and try their best to provide her with anything they have. Why wouldn't they? Hermione Granger, despite being a little princess who can have everything she wants, only wants to have more books and also be the golden daughter of her parents, as she is a genius and excels at everything in school. Honestly, if Alan has a daughter like Hermione, he will also spoil her so hard!
However, as mentioned, to have all of these achievements and money, sacrifices must be made! And that sacrifice is the time that Mr. and Mrs. Granger spend with their daughter. Being too busy with their work, they're unable to spend as much time as they want to with her. They took turns picking her up from school, as Alan sees every day, but from what he heard, they don't spend much time with her at home; they do, but not enough. Therefore, Hermione spends the majority of her time alone in a big house with only a helper that Mr. and Mrs. Granger have hired to look after her while they are busy with their clinic.
This is where Alan says that being smart might also be a curse because, being a genius combined with lots of reading, she understands why her parents are so busy and don't have much time to spend with her despite loving her so much. She knows they love her; she understands very well everything they do; they do it for her, to give her the best life. That's why, even though she wants them to pay attention to her more, she doesn't say anything and tries her best to be the perfect daughter that everyone wishes for.
Without anyone to talk to and having too much time to spend alone in the house, Hermione finds comfort in books, in reading, and in learning new things. Because she knows books will always be there if she needs them, and the knowledge she learns will always be on her mind. The way she acts is just to hide her insecurities and loneliness. She doesn't know any other ways despite being so smart, so she builds an armour surrounding her to protect her from being hurt. But by doing so, she becomes what other people call a "posh-y nerd". And being a "posh-y nerd" is an easy target for the bullies. And when being bullied, her intelligence tells her that she can go to her parents and teachers to help her out and they did! Why wouldn't they? Aside from being a perfect daughter, she is also the perfect student every teacher wishes for! So, of course, they trusted what she said and helped her out.
As a result, for only a short amount of time, she has been transferring from one school to another until she enrolls in the same school as Alan. And that is when the bullying ends! Cause Alan puts a stop to it!
After almost two months of sharing the same class with Hermione, truth be told, Alan doesn't pay much attention to her. He likes her in general, just like any other classmate, but he has so many things on his plate to handle that he doesn't have time for other mundane things. Besides, if everything plays out like in the book, she will be in Gryffindor and become the most important part of the Golden Trio; really, if not for her, Ron and Harry would die within book 1. And by being one of the Golden Trio, she will no doubt be in the close attention of Dumbledore, and Alan is trying his best to stay faraway from that man. That's why Alan maintains a relationship that is not too distant but not too close with her—an acquaintance but not a friend.
However, that kind of relationship ends when, one day, during the middle break, he hears one of the orphans say that he hears the girls talking about locking a "posh-y nerd" in the toilet to teach her a lesson. Needless to say, Alan knows right away who they're talking about and wastes no time running to the girl's restroom to look for Hermione! As a matter of fact: Alan knows stepping into the girl's restroom is not a good thing. No matter if he is gay, the girl's restroom is out of the question. They need their privacy, and what he does is invade their right to have that privacy. He will take full responsibility for that later, but right now, he has a hopeless, bullied girl to help.
Arriving at the girl's toilet and stepping inside, Alan sees right away that there are 3 girls speaking and laughing while holding a door to one of the cubicles at the right end of the restroom. All three of them stop talking right away, seeing that Alan, a boy, steps into the restroom and witnesses what they're doing. Getting enough of the idea of what's happening, Alan takes a deep breath, brings out his most serial killer look to set his gaze on them and then walks slowly towards the girls, letting them know that he means business while also having a good enough hearing to hear Hermione's voice of crying and begging coming from inside the cubicle.
- You have 3 seconds to get your hands off the door and sincerely apologize to the girl inside. Or else, I swear to God, you guys will wish for never doing such a thing in the first place because...the thing I will do to you? Will...be...so...much...worse!
Just right after finishing that sentence, Alan can feel something deep inside him react! It's like there is something inside him that lets loose, expands, takes over all the room, and then invisibly presses heavily on all the living beings in the restroom, making all of them, except for Alan, unable to breathe! All the colour runs out of the girls' faces making them so pale they look like corpses. Still holding the gaze and looking straight at the bullies while feeling something in the air, Alan counts 1-2-3 on his mind, and then will the thing that has been letting loose—it has to be his magic; what else can it be?—to return back into his mortal body. Right when he feels all of his magic resides inside him, something breaks in the air, and the girls are now able to breathe again.
"Now!"—Having had enough of this nonsense and refusing to allow it to continue for a second longer; he reminds them as soon as the air no longer feels heavy. No need to be reminded twice; all the girls open the door instantly and step aside right away, leaving room for Alan to step forward. Why don't they run? Well...they don't dare to! Something primal—some animals' instincts—is warning them that they're being watched very closely by an apex predator that can easily rip them apart. It's telling them that if they don't follow what Alan said, their lives will end right here and then! They just know that...Aan meant every word he said! So they listen and step aside...
Seeing the girls doing as he says, Alan pays them no mind and steps forward in the cubicle's door. It seems like Hermione is hearing all the things he says and knowing that there is a boy helping her fight off the bullies, she now doesn't say anything but is still silently crying. Taking a deep breath, Alan knocks on the door and gently says:
- Hello, it's me, Alan. You know me, right? Hermione, is it?
A moment passes, but Alan doesn't hear anything from the other side of the door. About to say something again, he is stopped by a quiet voice that says: "Yes..."
- Well, How are you, Hermione? Also, don't worry! Everything is fine now. And hey, some people want to say sorry to you, so... Do you want to come out?
Patiently waiting for Hermione's response, Alan spends one second turning around and looking at the girls, which makes their faces even paler than before, then turns back to the door. Not for long, Alan then hears Hermione shakily say: "No...Please make them go away...". Despite wanting Hermione to come out facing the bullies, Alan stops himself in time to remind himself that both Hermione and the bullies are still little girls after all. They still have a long way to go and lots of things to learn, and there's still time for all of it. "Patience is a virtue"—Alan has to remind himself.
Turning around to look at the girls, he firmly says:
- Well...Seems like the girl you've just bullied doesn't like to hear your apologies so you can leave now! But listen carefully: If I see any of you bullying anyone ever again, I will deal with you myself, and it will not be good! Got it?
Deciding to stress his words more, Alan wills his magic to let loose again and then pressures the girl with his magic from all directions for 3 seconds, making all the girls once again unable to breathe and now becoming even paler than Alan ever thinks a human face can be, then he wills the magic back into him.
- So...What do you say?
- Yes... we got it... - One of the girls, seems to be the leader of the group, after regaining enough strength to speak, shakily lets out an answer.
- Good! Now...get out!
No need to be told twice; they both rush out of the restroom like there is a demon standing inside ready to tear them apart. Meanwhile, Alan still standing there seeing them run as if their lives depended on it, he can't help but roll his eyes. Turning back to the cubicle, Alan says:
- Hermione...They're gone now. You can come out, please...
Hearing the sounds of rustling clothes, one moment passes, and then the door of the cubicle opens, revealing Hermione Granger standing inside with dishevelled clothes, crying red eyes, and bushy dirty hair. Stepping outside of the cubicle, Hermione really can't imagine her eyes looking at Alan. It's not because Alan is a boy standing in the girl's restroom; no, it's because this is the first time ever that someone who is the same age as her helped her out with the bullies.
She is not being called smart for no reason; she knows she is smart, and for that, she knows why people bully her. She has been transferring from one school to another for being bullied, after all. But never before has someone around her age helped her out when she's being bullied. Even the people she lent her homework for them to copy, still didn't help her out. That's also the reason why she comes to the teachers for help, because she knows, aside from the teachers, no one around her age will help her. But she also knows that being a teacher's pet will make the bullying worse, so sometimes she just endures it. But today...things change! Today is the first time ever that a person around her age, a boy, comes to rescue her and fights off the bullies.
She knows Alan; everybody in Garden Suburb Junior School knows about Alan. How can they not? They know, of course, about an orphan boy who is a genius, who has an incredible mind, and who is running a successful business. Rumors say "that business" was built by Alan from nothing! Hermione even knows that the school's principal - Ms. Anna - was ecstatic knowing that Alan would enrol in her school. Because that's also what happens when Hermione's parents come to talk to the principal about enrolling her in this school. They come home and discuss over dinner how ecstatic the principal is, knowing that there will be two geniuses enrolling in her school in September. Her parents also talk to her about how a genius boy will attend the same class as her and tell her that maybe, she and that boy will be friends as they are quite alike.
Honestly, she is also super curious about Alan. How can she not? There is a boy who is attending the same school and class as her, and is even cleverer than her! So, of course, she is curious. Sadly, despite her wanting to be Alan's friend, Alan doesn't like to be her friend.
No, she doesn't mean to say that Alan isn't nice to her. He is nice to her, and she dares say that he is the nicest person that she's ever met aside from her parents and teachers. It's just that, sometimes, Hermione feels Alan is so detached from the world. It is like this world is not meant for him. Like there are other realms out there waiting for him to explore, and this world is just a temporary stop. There is a strange vibe surrounding him, but unlike her, making him even more popular. He is well-liked among his classmates and at the school. He is just so kind, he likes to help people out. No matter what you seek him out for, he will help you the best he can. Besides, he just knows how to talk to someone and makes them feel like they're important; like he truly listens to whatever they say. Hermione really admires Alan for achieving such things; she wishes she could have that skill.
After 3 weeks of sharing the same class, Hermione sadly realises that she is, not a stranger, but not close to a friend, to Alan. They talk, but that's it—nothing more! Hermione honestly thinks that they will be like that until they graduate, and then they will never see each other again. But today, today, things change!
Hermione really can't believe her eyes when Alan comes to rescue her from the bullies. She knows that Alan is a very kind person, but being a kind person doesn't mean Alan will come to rescue her. At most, Alan might give her a knowing sad smile after seeing her return to class after being bullied. She knows that kind of smile; she has received it multiple times. But no, he is here! He comes and helps her out. And at that moment, she knows she will do everything to return the favor and will try her best to be his friend, no matter the cost!
Gathering all of her strengths and confidence, Hermione doesn't want Alan to think that she is just a little hopeless girl, despite being one right at this moment. She says:
- Thank you so much, Alan. Thanks for coming and helping me.
- No need for that! It's nothing. Anyone will come and help you.—Alan says with a gentle smile.
- No, they won't! I know; I have been in this situation before, so I'm sure they won't come. So thank you! —Saying this with much more confidence this time, Hermione looks straight into Alan's eyes. She wants her to know that what he does for her today is really important to her, and she truly appreciates it.
Understanding clearly what she wants to say. Looking into Hermione's eyes, for the first time ever knowing her in this lifetime, Alan sees the girl who will become the most important part of the Golden Trio, the girl who kills Voldemort, the girl who goes to the worst and still comes out stronger than ever, the girl who willingly erases all memories of her parents to help her friends, the person who one day will become the Minister of Magic—the first one ever who is a Muggleborn! And that girl is the one he learns to love! And that girl is the one he wants to be friends with!
Holding his gaze on Hermione's eyes, Alan firmly but sincerely says:
- Well, in that case...People say that every girl needs a gay best friend, and a gay man needs an emotional support girlfriend. So...wanna befriend, Hermione Granger? - Alans extends his right hand towards Hermione.
Looking down at Alan's inviting hand, hearing Alan's words with sincerity infused within his voice, Hermione can't help letting a tear run down her cheeks. She feels so surprised at what he said. She has read about Homosexuality before, and she knows how important it is and how much he trusts her to come out to her like this. And in that moment, Hermione swears to herself with all of her being that she will never betray his trust!
Wiping her eyes with one hand, smiling while taking his hand, Hermione sakes Alan's hand firmly and says:
- Well, I would love to. Nice to be your friend, Alan Walker!
- Nice to be your friend too, Hermione Granger!
Suddenly, the bells rang, making both of them startle. Looking at each other, they both burst out laughing so hard that there were tears in their eyes. Wiping his eyes, Alan says:
- Well, we have to go back now, or else they will come find us. And let me tell you, I don't want anyone to see me in this restroom because it'll be hell to explain why a boy like me is here of all places!
That makes a laugh out of Hermione. Gods, how can she not know he can be this hilarious?
- Sure, let's go back!
And from that day on, the lifetime long-lasting friendship between them starts...