Aldineri Randaren

Backstory

"Mom! Mom! It's here! It came!"

Aldineri ran through the house looking in every room his mother usually frequented. In his hand, he held a large envelope emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest and addressed to Aldineri Randaren in dark green ink.

"It's here!" he continued to yell as he scanned the kitchen and the living room.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," he heard his mother say from upstairs. "Hold your horses."

Aldineri waited at the foot of the stairs, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited for his mother to descend the steps from the second floor of their apartment. She came down, a faint smile plastered to her face, as she eyed the letter in Aldineri's hands.

"Did you open it yet?" she asked.

He looked down at the seal on the envelope. It was still intact. "I wanted us to do it together."

Aldineri's mother gave a weak chuckle. "Son, this is your future, not mine. Your father would be proud. Just open it."

With tears forming in his eyes, Aldineri ripped open the envelope and pulled out the acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had been waiting for this moment since he was a small child. Now at the age of eleven, he could follow in the footsteps of his father. Tiberius Randaren had been a potion maker for all of his adult Wizarding life. The man had married Aldineri's mother, a muggle, and the two had lived within the Wizarding community for many years before Aldineri was born. Within days of Aldineri's birth, a distracted Tiberius had made a fatal error in his latest experimental Potion, which caused an explosion that resulted in his death and the death of three others.

Since that time, Aldineri and his mother had been ostracized in the Wizarding community. Many blamed Tiberius for the loss of their loved ones. After a few months of comments and jinxes, Aldineri's mother moved the two of them back to the Muggle world into an apartment outside London. Neither thought that this letter would arrive.

Aldineri's mother extended her hand, and he gave her the letter so she could read it as well. As she moved to the second page, which detailed the equipment first year students were required to bring to school, her face fell.

"Dragon hide gloves? A cauldron?" she said, the color draining from her face. "Absolutely not! Aldineri, I will not allow you to take Potions. They are dangerous, and you will not be exposed to them if I can help it!"

Aldineri's eyes widened. "But, mother, it's part of the first year schedule. I have to take the class. And I want to."

"Potions have caused enough tragedy in this family. I refuse to allow it to cause any more," she said, her eyes narrowed to small points of blue. "That is my final word."

"But, mom-"

"I said that is my final word, Ald! Do not make me decline your acceptance!" she snapped.

Aldineri knew better than to argue now. She had her mind set. But he still intended to learn Potions. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. He wanted to learn how to brew medicines and cures. He wanted to help the Ministry by brewing potions that solved unique issues that plagued the Wizarding World. He wanted to experiment by mixing magical and mundane ingredients to see what wonders could be discovered. And above all, he wanted to prove that the Randaren name was not synonymous with disaster. He would follow in his father's footsteps and clear his father's name at the same time!

With that in mind, he felt completely justified when he intercepted his mother's letter to the Headmaster. What the Hogwarts administration never knew couldn't hurt them. And what his mother thought she had sent was enough for him. Aldineri would take Potions. And he'd learn everything he could!