Backstory
♡ THE STORY ♡

Omnia mutantur, nihil interit - everything changes, but nothing is truly lost

The History
Of tradition and abandon

Reducio

For a long time, there was a family with a long succession of wizards of witches. But they were oh so subtle about it. There was no need to go around parading their bloodline like those other pureblood families. The Furukata family interspersed among the non-magical; their children always attended Mahoutokoro, but they never announced their blood to everyone they met. No, they were one of the quieter magic families.

It was not uncommon to see a wizard or witch of the family marry someone who was not of purely magical descent. However, few Furukatas chose to marry non-magic people. Squibs, though unusual, were present in their family, and they were proud to treat everyone in their family equally.

But as with all things, there was an exception.

Inei Furukata was born to Kaki and Aya Furukata. His father, Kaki, was a Muggleborn wizard. Inei despised his father, not because Kaki was stern, but because of his father's lineage. Inei had a firm belief that magical people could only come from magical parents. In his mind, his father was a disgrace to wizard kind. His mother was worried about him, but Inei brushed his mother's concern away. He was independent and impulsive.

A few years following Inei's birth, his younger brother, Shimesu, was born. Shimesu was everything Inei was not - kind hearted, accepting, and cautious. Both Inei and Shimesu were accepted into Mahoutokoro.

After graduation, Inei abandoned tradition. He left the Furukatas and his home behind, finding their beautiful subtlety distasteful. Shimesu attempted to stop him, but backed away after being threatened at the point of Inei's wand.

Since then, not a word was spoken of Inei.

Inei bought a secluded home and enchanted it with protection spells. Should any Muggles find their way to his home, they should watch where they step. Otherwise, they might find themselves in some... nasty substances.

One day, Inei encountered a full grown werewolf. Stunned, the claws of the wolf barely missed him. He was saved by a young witch, whom he later learned was named Shun. Inei wanted nothing to do with his family; he lied about his surname, claiming that his name was Inei Kikuchi.

The two quickly fell in love, and Inei slowly let go of his memories of the Furukatas. Years later, a baby boy was born, by the name of Kenichi Kikuchi.

Over the years, there were few wizards or witches that had the same thought as Inei "Kikuchi" about blood purity. Several married Muggles - there were even a few unaware of their magical prowess. And so it begun. The "Kikuchi" line, built on the whim of a blood purist that abandoned his family. And so it begun.

The Beginning
Of exploration and trailblazing

Reducio

Namie Kikuchi was born in Kobe, Japan. From a young age, she was an ambitious child, always wanting to explore the world outside of Kobe. Her older brother, Hakaku, was more reserved, focused on his studies. But Namie wasn't interested in studies... she wanted to see the world. The two didn't get along, as their priorities were vastly different.

A couple of years after Namie was born, another baby girl came to light. Namie and Hakaku's parents named this little girl Niko, hoping she would be a peacemaker between her elder siblings. Niko was gentle and soft, and proved to be a wonderful peacemaker.

As Namie and Niko grew up, Niko quietly noticed queer things that happened around Namie - especially when she was upset. However, she kept these observations to herself, and life went on. When Namie was eight and Niko six, their grandaunt decided to move to England. Namie was desperate to tag along. While their parents, Ichiro and Taka, were reluctant, their grandaunt thought it would be good for Namie. Reluctantly, they let their young child head off to Britain.

Had Namie not grasped this opportunity, she likely wouldn't have realized her own worth, as the wizarding school in Japan, Mahoutokoro, rarely accepted Muggle borns, and the Kikuchis had not received a letter.

But as time went by, with Namie residing in England, neither Niko nor Hakaku heard much from her. Although Namie enjoyed Niko's company, she rarely sent letters, and Namie left her Japanese family behind to start a new life.

On Namie's birthday, her grandaunt, Chie, received quite the surprise when a woman knocked on their door. She explained with a gentle smile that Chie's grandniece had been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. Chie was astonished, but she accepted that Namie was magical quite easily. She was a bit worried about sending Namie off to a boarding school, but being the one who allowed an eight year old Namie to tag along on a world wide trip, Chie let her grandniece go.

Namie was ecstatic, and spent her teen years in Hogwarts, telling Chie all about her adventures. When Chie passed away in Namie's 6th year, she sorrowfully passed along the news along to her relatives in Japan. Ichiro, Taka, and Hakaku were saddened at the passing of Chie, but they did not worry about Namie being all alone in England. Niko, however, did. All Namie said when Niko asked if she was okay was, "I am living my best life there." And it was true - Namie was content in England, among other witches like herself.

As Namie became an adult, she took a job at the Ministry of Magic, and only visited her family every few years for family gatherings. She celebrated the coming of her own niece with her younger sister Niko and her husband, Benjamin. Little did she know, that the little girl was to grow up to have much the same talents as Namie.

The Middle of the Beginning
Of love and family

Reducio

Niko Kikuchi had a quiet, ordinary life in Kobe, Japan. She did her homework, attended class, and laughed with her friends. And then, she met someone that would change her life.

Benjamin Lovis was of Taiwanese descent. His grandparents had immigrated from Taiwan, and Benjamin grew up in London his whole life. However, his fascination was with another country across the globe - Japan. Since he was young, his dream had always been to head to Japan. In his eyes, Japan was a beautiful country with a culture to be admired.

In 1993, Benjamin got his wish. He applied as a transfer student and spent several years in Japan. Niko, on the other hand, met the love of her life. They met in high school, and it instantly clicked. Benjamin loved the gentleness and serenity of Niko, and Niko admired Benjamin's courage and focus.

It was when their first daughter was born that Niko heard from Namie in a very long time. In fact, Namie's existence was something Niko had almost, but not quite, forgotten, like an old box gathering dust in the attic. Namie briefly visited and then left for her home in London after cooing to the new baby. With the birth of the baby was the uncurling of secrets and mystery, but of course, neither Niko nor Benjamin knew that.

The End of the Beginning
Of secrets and normality

Reducio

Callista Lovis was born on November 3rd, 2008. She led an ordinary, non-magical life. A quiet, bookish girl, she never attracted much attention; consequently, she never made many friends either. Her mother, Niko, and her father, Benjamin, named her Callista, after the constellation and myth Callisto. Three years after Callista came, another girl was born - Aurora, named after the aurora borealis.

Born on March 12th, 2012, Aurora was practically the opposite of Callista. Energetic and positive, you could always tell when she entered a room. The two sisters were closer than many other siblings, and they often relied on one another.

Callista was born in Japan, but when she was three, the family moved to England. The sisters grew up together in England, visiting Japan and Taiwan every summer. At home, the girls almost always spoke English, but their mother usually used Japanese. Aurora's Japanese was shaky; Mandarin was easier for her. For Callista, she grew up trilingual.

Callista's first language was Japanese; when they lived in Japan, her mother and father only spoke Japanese at home. However, that was when she was very young. In England, people spoke English. Once she started attending school, it became a necessity to adapt to the new language. However, her paternal grandparents spoke Mandarin, as they were Taiwanese.

Except for her brilliant mind and linguistic skills, Callista led a very normal life. Niko never mentioned the oddity of her sister, not once. It was her own personal suspicion and secret. Callista had only the faintest recollection of her aunt Namie in a family gathering.

However, Niko had been noticing the strange things that were happening around Callista, just like it once did with her sister. When Callista was six, she fell into a pool. Panicking, the water was lifted and she was dropped on the side unharmed. The second time, Callista was nine. Aurora was crying because their cat, Miluku, was missing. During the search, Callista was pulled towards the spot where he had been hiding (their parents' closet).

Niko wasn't sure what it was. That is... until the letter arrived.