–Flashback–
12 year old Lucas Castellin, who was suffering from chronic CVID, woke to his mother's gentle nudging.
The morning smelled like antibacterial wipes and cinnamon toast.
The first thing his mother did was to check his temperature. The morning sun shone on her shoulder-length dark hair, pulled into a low knot with a stray wisp by her temple; warm brown eyes with half-moons under them because of the night shift.
"36.8," she said like a small victory, then cracked the window for two minutes of winter air and closed it before the draft could settle.
After he showered in boiling hot water, she helped him put on a mask, hand gel, the little pulse oximeter pinch, a laminated card with CVID info and all her numbers, lunch box—all the things he needed before going to school.
She strapped him into the school bus, once again giving instructions to the conductor before waving him goodbye with a smile on her.
She didn't show at all that she had been overworking herself with 3 jobs.
School went the same as usual. Between shifts his mother controlled his condition from her phone: refilled prescriptions, confirmed Friday's SCIG delivery, rescheduled an immunology follow-up to a day she could be there.
At 2:45 she left a voice memo he'd play on the walk home: "If the bus is full, wait for the next. There's soup in the thermos. Call me if anything feels weird."
In the evening, she came from her second shift with a renewed supply of medication and prepared dinner. Before leaving for her third shift, Lucas made her promise to come back early and read him Harry Potter before bed.
Left alone, Lucas did his homework while feeling sorry for himself. He was always in pain, had to always be careful of catching even a minor illness, and couldn't even participate in any physical activities. As for dating? That is perhaps forever out of question.
After doing homework and watching TV for a while, he laid in bed and waited for his mother. Unknowingly, he fell asleep.
This time, he did not wake up to his mom's gentle nudging and temperature check like usual, instead he woke up to the cold, hard ringing of the telephone.
He was called to a Hospital where he was told that his mother had a car accident due to speeding on her way home (because of the promise to read him Harry Potter). By the time Lucas had reached the hospital, the rescue had already failed.
The doctor also had more to say to him.
Profound anemia—hemoglobin "dangerously low," blood sugar in the 40s, untreated high blood pressure, signs she'd been working dehydrated. The EKG showed an arrhythmia likely from electrolytes and exhaustion.
It was not a result of just a few days, or years. Her body had been slowly degrading for more than a decade.
Due to this, combined with the fact that she was severely sleep deprived, she had nodded off for a split-second while driving fast, causing an accident.
It wasn't fatal. But her body was so weak that it couldn't handle it.
Lucas was already numb with shock ever since finding out about her death. And hearing just how many problems his mother had made him question if the doctor was joking.
From which angle did Catherin Castellin ever appear "weak"?
He had always taken her for granted. A constant presence, a help, a comfort which can handle everything for him. Not once had she ever let him notice that she also had her own problems, her own life.
It was only after knowing her condition that Lucas started to comprehend just what he had lost and what she had sacrificed.
–Flashback End–
Lucas snapped out of the flashback, his eyes still unfocused.
Memories kept flooding back to him, making the ongoing events completely meaningless to him.
Various people were still entering the VIP box and many of them came to exchange words with Madame Delacour. But Lucas couldn't focus at all.
How could he, when the woman who resembled his mother was sitting right behind him? He could even hear her voice which was also very familiar to him.
All he could think of was: What if?
What if she really is his mother? Surely, she wouldn't care if his appearance had changed, right? At least he was so much better looking now compared to his last life.
If she's Catherin, she would immediately hug him and start crying out of happiness, saying how much she missed him, and he would finally be able to start making up for his previous life.
Thinking of this, he couldn't wait anymore. But what should he do?
He can't just ask her if she remembers him from her past life, can he? If she doesn't, Lucas would face social death.
He took a few deep breaths, calming the surging emotions in his heart. Then he took out a quill and parchment and started writing.
Then he turned around and waited. "Excuse me," he said at an opportune moment when the conversation of the two ladies had a brief lul.
"Yes?" Asked Lily Potter politely. At the same time, Lucas felt several gazes on himself from all sides of the VIP box.
What does the concept of inventing something groundbreaking mean if you have the power of ministry behind you? It means you can all but print money.
There are several people in this room who would sacrifice a lot just to have a chance to talk to these ladies, because their gains could be even larger, be it an investment or help with a project.
But everyone knows that approaching them directly would definitely get them blacklisted.
So of course he attracted all sorts of attention when he suddenly addressed them directly. Even Appoline frowned and Fleur's eyes popped open as she frantically tugged at his sleeve.
Of course, Lucas could care less about all of these things right now.
He flashed an innocent disarming smile.
"Hi, I'm your fan. I was inspired by your invention of Connecting Mirrors, and I had an idea related to it."
The whole time, he was looking at Lily Potter. It's an old trick. To capture a queen, capture the attendant first.
Since Lily is Aurora's protege and the Marauders already had a two-way mirror which the Connecting mirror is based on, Lily Potter obviously had a huge part in it.
Lily exchanged glances with Aurora, who shrugged, turning her attention back to the stadium. Lily turned to him and smiled.
"Oh? An idea related to the connecting mirror? Do tell."
Lucas scratched his head. "Well, I thought that the connecting mirrors were very convenient, but in case someone missed a call, they have no way of knowing what the message was. Then when they call back, there is no guarantee if the other person would pick up. Also, for some things, making a call is inconvenient, rather than simply sending a written message, similar to online chatting."
So, I wonder if you have already thought of adding an instant messaging function to the connecting mirrors."
Lily Potter exchanged glances with Aurora, who had also begun listening in. "We hadn't thought of it yet, since we thought the connecting mirrors were already perfect. But now that you mention it, instant messaging does seem very convenient," said Lily, her gaze thoughtful.
"Oh, I happened to already have a solution for it," Lucas said with a smile, waving his parchment, but his heart was slowly turning cold.
In his pitch, he had deliberately thrown around some modern terms that only a reincarnator would know. But still, he had gotten no reaction from Aurora.
But still, he handed over the parchment which had the complete benefits of messaging, containing more hints, and finally, the Protean Charm, which Hermione used in 5th and 7th part for secret untraceable communication.
The two women read the parchment with great interest, but Lucas just kept staring at Aurora, reading her every reaction. But even then, he found no abnormality whatsoever.
The hints included things that should reveal his identity as her son, like his hand-writing, which his mother knew by heart since she had to copy his homework for him many times.
And since she did not even react to this, it is clear that she is not just trying to act oblivious since his mother wouldn't be on guard against him.
When they read about the Protean Charm, they both exclaimed in surprise. Which they should, since the solution was fairly simple and yet easily ignored.
Protean Charm links two objects, and it's only casually mentioned in Hogwarts: A History, meaning it's not a spell that is taught in the curriculum.
And the reason is simple: everyone thinks it's useless. What can you achieve by linking two objects?
At most, someone would think of using it to destroy an object remotely by destroying its linked object. Only Hermoine had the genius idea of carving things in one object to reflect it on the other.
That's how innovation is. Apple fell on many people's heads but only Newton comprehended the law of Gravitation from it.
Aurora looked up from the parchment. "This is a very important piece of information. Its value is difficult to calculate. How much do you want to sell it for, Mr…? What was your name again?" she asked straightforwardly.
But Lucas was no longer interested. It felt like losing her all over again.
"Lucas. My name is Lucas Castellin."
"Lucas… Castellin…?" But at this moment, Aurora finally reacted, frowning hard.
Lucas knew that reaction. She found that name very familiar. And she was trying very hard to recall it.
'But… what does it mean?'
He didn't know anymore. You either remember your son's name or you're not his mother. What is this in-between situation?
It seems that she's simply trying to recall any some similar name she might have heard over the years.
At this moment, a loud voice rang out throughout the stadium, as a man with a bowler hat started commentating, keeping his wand on his throat for amplification.
The tournament had started, and with the loud noise, nothing could be discussed. Which fit perfectly with Lucas.
He excused himself for a bathroom break.
He did not return the whole match.
He had always considered himself a cold hearted guy, who focuses solely on his goals. And he has always stood by it.
He has clear priorities and goals, and he never lets his emotions get in the way of achieving them.
This is why he still hasn't retaliated yet for the poor reception he has received at the Delacour household.
Once he has conquered them, he can easily spank them as much as he wants and make them call him daddy. Will it be too late? No. Because he can hold himself back for however long.
But it was only now that he was coming to realize, he is not that cold hearted.
It's just that his heart has been stuck ever since he had heard of his mother's death in the hospital.
Lucas put his hand on his chest.
His heart was beating again.
…
–Aurora PoV–
"Lucas Castellin… where have I heard that?"
Aurora couldn't understand why, but the familiar throbbing in her heart had returned, similar to the kind she felt after waking up from her dreams.
Ignoring it, she focused on discussing the young man's brilliant idea with Lily. But soon, the French mascots arrived at the pitch.
The Veelas, having been convinced that showing off at an international stage was much better than protesting, gave a Brilliant performance.
They used a bell-pure chorus over a soft hand-drum heartbeat. On the chorus, their voices thicken with controlled allure would mesmerise the audience, and then relax the power between verses so the crowd can breathe.
Wrist-rolls and hip accents carve the air; skirts flare into precise arcs that resolve into a fleur-de-lys. Silver dust on their ankles sketches constellations that faded on a three-count.
Watching them, just when the male audience members would lose control, they would be brought back to focus and then the process would repeat again.
Overall, it was a great experience.
At the end, they stopped the allure and scattered silver dust, and the French players emerged from the sparkles.
Then it was Bulgaria's turn.
They were using the Nestinari Fire-walkers, who are longstanding traditional performers of Bulgarian culture.
Barefoot dancers with red sashes and white shirts appeared on the ground, carrying icons worked in glow inks. A narrow bed of charcoal unfurled at the center.
They started to dance in the embers, stamping and pivoting on the glowing path. Where a heel landed, sparks leap and knit into lions of heat-haze that rear and roar in silence.
Then, the charcoal platform rose into the air, its heat intensifying and the sparks spiraled up and braid into a single flaming lion, through which the Bulgarian team emerged.
The lion roared and the drumline snapped into the team chant—"KRUM! KRUM!"—and the crowd answered like thunder.
The match itself was quite lackluster. France initially had an edge in scoring but the Bulgarian Beater Lestrange knocked France's star Chaser with a borderline illegal move, after which Krum managed to catch the snitch, thus ending the match in Bulgaria's victory.
With that, the Quidditch World Cup came to an end amidst Firecrackers.
Aurora barely reacted through the match duration. She had long been bored of such events. She only made an attendance just to show everyone she still exists.
But this time, something interesting had happened.
She motioned Lily towards the Veela family and Lily understood the assignment.
"Madame Delacour, could you tell us the contact information of Lucas Castellin's parents?"
"My apologies, he does not have parents. I am his legal guardian."
"Then, can you give us his connecting mirror contact?"
"He does not have a connecting mirror. You can discuss it with me," Madame Delacour offered.
Lily turned to look at Aurora and Aurora saw the same doubt in her protege's eyes. Already seeming to be over 15, under the guardianship of the wealthy Delacours, and still no connecting mirror?
Aurora gently shook her head.
Lily slightly bowed. "Then we will contact him ourselves. Sorry to bother you."
Madame Delacour did seem offended at being suspected but she knew there was nothing the Veela could do. Aurora was a Dumbledore after all.
"Please be assured, Madame Delacour. We are not short of money and resources. We will not be stingy with our compensation to Lucas," she decided to speak up, just to not appear a villain.
Old aunt Ariana wouldn't let the Dumbledores take advantage of others anyway, no matter how powerful they become.
"Over 15 and no connecting mirror? How does he contact his friends and acquaintances? Via owls? I mean the French aren't that backward, are they?"
On their way back, while Lily chattered on, Aurora felt absent minded for some reason, despite having a new task to do. They now had a way to revolutionalise the communication field once again, but she did not feel as excited as she should.
Entering her tent, the first thing they did was to dig out the Protean charm from their memories and try it on a pair of spare connecting mirrors.
Then lily took out a ritual knife and casually carved out random things in one mirror. Immediately, the exact patterns appeared on the other mirror.
She then waved her wand and the carvings disappeared from both the devices.
"Bullocks… It was that simple." Lily muttered, cursing uncharacteristically. "That boy must think we're idiots. I had noticed his excitement had died down when he realized we didn't already know this."
Aurora was even more embarrassed. Especially since she now felt messaging was a normal thing and that she had known this concept already.
Just like how she already knew the concept of her other inventions. It means she had dreamt of something similar.
Of course, even though the ideas might not be original, the research behind her inventions is real.
Aurora put aside her thoughts.
"It is too early to celebrate. We first have to convert the Protean charm into a runic array, or it won't last long.
"And if we market it like this, others would realize that this can be achieved through protean charm as well. Then they won't buy our product if they can cast it themselves for free.
We need to twist it a bit. Only charm a small internal part with Protean charm. Whatever the user spells using their fingers is read by an array and carved into the small area, which transfers it to the other link, read by the array, then written on screen in normal letters."
Just like that, they brainstormed for a while after which Lily had to leave to check on her son.
Seeing the witch leave while talking to her son in the mirror, Aurora once again felt a pang of jealousy.
But there was no solution to it. She thought of adopting a child but felt really empty when it actually came down to it.
She just couldn't feel that motherly affection toward any child. It was a similar case with getting a lover. In fact, she felt even more disgusted about that.
Feeling bored, she fell asleep.
But once again, she found herself dreaming. Or having the same nightmare.
In this dream, she just watches the struggles of a boy in a strangely advanced muggle world. There is no sound, and it's quite blurry, making it difficult to find out much.
But watching the boy's struggles, her heart always feels like it is being pierced with thousands of needles.
It does not happen often, but every time, the content is different and when she wakes up, her pillow is always filled with tears and she cannot recall much except vague details. Not even with old Aunt Ariana's help.
And the very vague details she CAN recall become inspiration for her inventions.
But no amount of benefits are worth feeling such torture. As she watched the boy get sick again, she felt the urge to rush to his side and take care of him.
Every time she saw him skip his food or medication, she wanted to remind him.
What's worse is that the boy's condition keeps worsening, something she really does not want to see.
'At this rate, if he really died–'
Thankfully, Aurora was roused from her dream due to the sound of screams and stamped coming from outside the tent.
"What… is going on?"
Vaguely, she heard an amplified voice.
"The death eaters are attacking! Run for your lives!"
....
A.N.: so basically his mother hasn't reincarnated since she has no memories. At most she has her past life's characteristics and feelings.
Action in next chapter.