Chapter 1
Winter isn’t usually the type to be impatient, but her sister taking too long to choose an outfit is making her feel unbearably restless. She’s supposed to be in Diagon Alley by now. “Hurry up! You look the same in any clothes you wear anyway,” Winter huffs, pacing back and forth in the hallway just outside their bedrooms.
Winter pulls out her list of items she needs to buy, checking it one more time to make sure she hasn’t forgotten anything. It’s still a few weeks before the start of school, but they always go school shopping earlier than everyone else to avoid the crowds.
“How do I look?” Minji asks as she opens the door, twirling around for her sister to see her outfit. She’s wearing baggy jean pants, a dark top, classic black high-top leather boots, and a black coat on top. “Decent. Let’s go!” Winter groans, grabbing her sister’s arm and pulling her toward the fireplace so they can travel via the Floo Network.
“Mistresses, wait! I’ll come with you to assist you!” Mimi shouts, panicking as she rushes to catch up with the sisters. “No need, Mimi. We can handle ourselves, we’ll manage the shopping just fine,” Winter says quickly, dismissing the house elf. “Yeah, there’s no need, Mimi. Actually, it’s been pretty dusty here—I’ve been sneezing a lot. Please clean the place while we’re gone,” Minji adds. The sisters always prefer not to take house elves with them when they leave the manor. Those little buggers always give their parents a full report on where they go, what they eat, and who they’re with.
“But—” Mimi doesn’t get to finish her sentence as Minji quickly throws the Floo Powder into the fireplace and yells, “Diagon Alley!”
“I’ll hang out with you for a while until my friends get here,” Minji says sheepishly to Winter as they step into Diagon Alley.
“Oh, so that’s why you took your time. May I remind you that I have my own plans that don’t revolve around your schedule?” Winter replies, brushing past Minji and heading toward the agreed meeting place with her friends.
“Come on, I know you lot didn’t agree to meet at eight sharp in the morning! Bonkers, if you ask me.”
Winter’s friends had indeed not agreed to meet that early. No, she has a separate plan. There have been whispers of a wizard giving street speeches about wanting to change the wizarding world—a world where they don’t have to hide from Muggles. Lord Voldemort might be the name, if she remembers correctly. She first heard of him during a family dinner. Her aunts and uncles had spoken about him, some with fondness. He preaches blood superiority, claiming their right as the superiors—even over the ‘sickeningmudbloods,’ as her relatives like to call them.
Superiors… It’s a word Winter doesn’t fully agree with or oppose. But she does believe they shouldn’t have to hide. They have incredible abilities—why should anyone hide that?
Her hard-to-please grandparents seem in awe of the man, which piqued her interest. Their family is known for its blood purity, yet a wizard with an unsure surname—rumored to be from the Gaunt family—has managed to get their attention. It’s intriguing.
They arrive at the other meeting place, a small theater in Knockturn Alley. The sign above reads Magoi Thavmasios. “Winter, Minji! Of course, heiresses of the Selwyn family would be here,” an old man greets them cheerfully. It’s Mr. Mathaios Carrow, from a family with close ties to theirs. Winter and Minji greet him politely. They’ve met him countless times at gatherings they were forced to attend, where he’s usually deep in conversation with the adults.
“We’re only here for a quick stop, we still need to buy our school materials,” Winter informs him.
“Just in time. He finally secured a theater to hold this meeting. It’s about to start. Shall we head in?” They follow him inside. The theater is familiar—a frequent gathering place for purebloods seeking entertainment. Everything is designed with the utmost care, using the finest materials.
Minji has no idea why she’s here, but she always makes it her mission to see what her sister is up to. Winter has a habit of keeping secrets. Minji glances around, searching for a clue, when her eyes land on a poster on the wall just as they’re about to enter the theater room.
“Lord Voldemort! That guy everyone’s been talking about!” Minji whisper-yells to Winter. Winter gives her a stern look, silently warning her to stay quiet.
“I didn’t know you were into this kind of stuff, Win. I thought you were… neutral? You do have Muggle-born friends and all,” Minji says, frowning in confusion. She’s starting to feel uneasy. Minji may be a pureblood raised with a closed-minded upbringing, but her time at Hogwarts as a Ravenclaw has reshaped her perspective. Blood purists tend to be… extreme. And now her sister is attending a meeting led by a man who preaches about blood purity?
“I’m just curious, alright? I didn’t ask you to come with me. Let’s just see what this guy is about, and then we’ll leave,” Winter whispers, grabbing Minji’s hand and leading her to where Mr. Carrow is heading. They climb the stairs to one of the box seats, the one immediately to the right of the stage.
The big lights in the hall go out, and a spotlight illuminates the stage. A man walks onto the platform. He has raven-black hair and a tall, slim build, dressed sharply in an all-black Muggle suit. His mid-length, slightly wavy hair is neatly swept to the side.
Once he reaches the center of the stage, they can see his face clearly. He has charming dark brown eyes, a clean-shaven face, and a gentle look—especially when he smiles. He’s undeniably handsome. “Good morning, everyone. It’s only eight in the morning, so I’m sure you had to miss something to be here. Thank you very much for coming,” Tom says, his deep voice carrying a mix of playfulness and authority. It’s clear he believes this event is far more important than anything the audience sacrificed to attend.
The speech begins with the usual opening lines—history on magic, selectively tailored to appeal to purebloods. As he continues, the topics grow more heated.
“All our lives, we’re made to follow rules that oppress us. All the things we’ve studied and learned are buried within us just because—what? A Muggle might get scared and plan to attack us? Why should we let them, when we’re far more capable and powerful? Hold them by their necks and let them know who the superior beings are,” Voldemort spits. His voice is clear and filled with just the right indignation, making the crowd feel every word, they erupt in agreement, their cheers and applause echoing through the theater.
Winter has heard enough. The man knows how to captivate a crowd, but she’s not convinced. She looks at Minji and whispers that they should leave, to which Minji quickly agrees. They bid a quick goodbye to Mr. Carrow, who nods and pats their shoulders as they leave. As they head toward the reception area, a woman blocks their path.
“And what might you two be doing here? I don’t recall your grandfather asking any of you to attend,” the woman says.
“Aunt Seulgi! Lovely to see you. We didn’t know this was by Grandfather’s order,” Minji says, quickly hugging her in an attempt to diffuse the tension.
“There was a talk, and it just so happens we were on a trip to buy our school materials, so we thought we might as well check it out,” Winter adds, confused as to why they would need Grandfather’s permission to be here.
“Willa!” Seulgi calls sternly for her house elf. There is a small pop, and Willa appears. “Yes, mistress?” Willa says, bowing. “Assist Winter and Minji to Diagon Alley,” Seulgi says, looking straight at the sisters. They both know there’s no way to get out of this, unlike earlier with Mimi.
“Cool. Let’s go then, I’m hungry,” Minji says with a nervous laugh. With that, Willa snaps her fingers, and they suddenly find themselves in Diagon Alley, just outside the Leaky Cauldron.
Seulgi Selwyn wakes up early, not by her own accord but because her father has tasked her to attend a meeting. She gets out of bed, grabs her wand from the nightstand, and groggily steps in front of the mirror. With a small flick, water and a bit of soap spread across her body, but not a drop falls on the floor. Another flick, and she’s dry. All that’s left is choosing what to wear.
She walks to her closet, rummages for a moment, and selects a pair of black slacks, a white button-up blouse, and a dark red coat. Still feeling sleepy, she swishes her wand again. In an instant, she’s wearing the clothes she picked out, while the ones she was wearing earlier are now neatly folded on the chair.
She looks at the clock on the wall—seven twenty-eight. With that, she quickly leaves her apartment and walks to the nearest telephone booth. She presses a combination, and the inside of the booth suddenly descends like an elevator. It takes about a minute before it stops.
She doesn’t live in her family’s manor anymore, it’s reserved for the heir, her brother, Suho Selwyn. While she could still stay there, she chooses not to. She prefers to keep her distance from her family. In fact, she specifically chose a job that allows her to be away for long periods of time.
Seulgi works as a herbologist, traveling the world to identify and extract samples of magical plants and whatnot. However, now that her father is older, she occasionally helps with family matters whenever he reaches out to her.
In front of her is a row of large fireplaces connected to the Floo Network. A number of other witches and wizards are coming and going through the various former telephone booths and fireplaces. She goes to a booth and taps her ring, causing a small bag of Floo Powder to emerge from the slot. Floo Powder can be postpaid, and you can choose an object to store your payments—like those bus cards Muggles use.
She walks up to one of the lines leading to a fireplace. While waiting, she hears the people around her chatting.
"I told you to eat at home before we left."
"Yeah, but there’s this restaurant I want to try, and I won’t be able to eat properly if I already ate."
"Suit yourself. You could’ve at least brought a small treat to nibble on before we get there."
"I already ate it."
Seulgi tunes out the rest of their conversation as her turn to use the Floo Network arrives. Stepping into the fireplace, she throws down the powder and says, almost with a sigh, "Knockturn Alley." Green fire immediately engulfs her, and in an instant, she finds herself in a small room with five fireplaces. It’s empty except for her. She heads to the door and steps out into the dark street of Knockturn Alley. After walking for a couple of minutes and making a few turns, she stops in front of the Magoi Thavmasios theater. This is where she’s supposed to meet her father.
To be honest, she doesn’t want to be here. She has no desire to participate in whatever this self-important pansy calling himself LordVoldemort has to offer. Of course, she’s heard of him—he’s the talk of the purebloods these days.
“Seulgi,” a man calls out. She turns to see her father, Howard Selwyn, smiling at her. They share a quick hug.
“Father, as you can see, I’m not late,” Seulgi says, earning a chuckle from the old man.
“Indeed, you’re not. Come on, let’s head inside,” he says, subtly glancing around the area.
No matter how much she tries to distance herself from her family, Seulgi can’t help but worry about them. They can be kind and warm, but when it comes to their pureblood ideals, that’s where the line is drawn. She’s particularly concerned about what her father might be getting the family involved in. While she herself isn’t married or raising children, she has several young nieces and nephews from her siblings. The thought of them being influenced or dragged into something dangerous weighs heavily on her.
“I’m glad you could come,” Howard says quietly as they walk, Seulgi's arm wrapped around his. “I’ve spoken to a few witches and wizards. Apparently, they were acquainted with Lord Voldemort during their time at Hogwarts. I would’ve already graduated when they were in first year.”
“Like who?” Seulgi asks, curious. “Abraxas Malfoy, yes, from the Sacred 28. This Lord Voldemort must be the real deal if he’s an ally of him,” Howard says, his tone low but tinged with admiration.
Those families... Even during her time at Hogwarts, kids from those families were always causing trouble. Some of her niblings even mentioned how annoying it was to share classes with the Malfoys and Blacks. Minji, especially, couldn’t stand the antics of that Sirius kid—his pranks always seemed to involve the entire school. Winter, however, spoke fondly of Regulus Black. They were in the same house, after all, and she seemed to appreciate the more reserved nature he had.
They walk up to one of the box seats, a bit to the right of the stage. “Good view, not crowded, too,” Howard says, gesturing for Diane to sit.
“So now you want to be his ally, too?” she asks incredulously.
“Well, at first, I just found him interesting—a young man with a vision. But learning that powerful families are backing him up has made me to consider it,” he replies, his eyes fixed on the warm-colored lamp at the mini table between them. Diane’s blood runs cold at what she hears. “How will he achieve this vision of his? Is he running for Wizengamot, the Minister of Magic?”
“I don’t think so. That’s why we’re attending this one. It’s different from the others he’s held before.”
Seulgi wants to say more, but the lights suddenly turn off, and the stage is illuminated. She falls silent, trying to gather her thoughts, figuring out how to respond to her father.
Lord Voldemort steps onto the stage, and the crowd erupts in cheers. She remains quiet, listening intently. However, the more he speaks, the more she realizes how dangerous this man is. Seulgi quickly understands why families like the Malfoys and Blacks would align themselves with him.
At one point, he says something that makes the crowd cheer even louder. Curious to see how the crowd perceives him, Diane leans toward the edge of the box and looks around. The faces around are full of determination, as if they’ve found a new hope, like they’ve discovered a cure to an ailment. She scans the room, her gaze moving to the other box seats.
Her heart stops when she spots her two nieces seated in one of the boxes. She watches as they whisper to each other, then stand up, leaving a man who looks to be Mr. Carrow behind. Seulgi glances at her father and realizes he doesn’t know they’re here. She quickly mumbles, “Toilet,” before rushing off.
She catches up to her nieces and confronts them. “And what might you two be doing here? I don’t recall your grandfather asking any of you to attend.”
The two take turns explaining their reasons, and while they don’t seem to be lying, they’re clearly not telling the whole truth either. Not wanting them anywhere near that Voldemort guy, Seulgi quickly summons her house-elf to take them away from the venue. She’ll deal with them later.