Iñaki América Martinez Cariaga (or better known as Kiki to her friends) finally had it all. She finally managed to become a 90+ student in both magical and nomaj studies and get a handle of her strange weak magic.
But most of all, she finally had her core friend group at Excelsior.
That is until her dad got a new job that threw her family across the Atlantic from the Big Apple to London-town and her into some school she never heard of before in Scotland.
Now she’s back to square one as she tries to adjust to her new country, school and classmates she refuses to befriend if her dad’s work contract is only for a year long.
Hopefully.
Oh.
And dealing with her strange magic.
Because of course, her own life couldn’t be normal without her strange magic standing in the way. Especially when there’s more to her magic than what meets the eye when it decides to finally start maturing and bring chaos as per usual. Just what she needs as she deals with being the new kid at school.
Again.
At least she has her magicked iPod touch to keep her sanity, right?
…
I – An American Mage in London - Prologue
…
I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don’t know where it goes
But it’s home to me, and I walk alone.
-Boulevard of Broken Dream (2004), Green Day
…
[Journal Entry 1]
I think one thing most people don’t understand is how much it freaking sucks starting over again. Especially when you finally got the thing that you were looking for…only for life to take it freaking away like it doesn’t even matter.
That’s one thing at least me and Linkin Park have in common.
Tried so hard. Got so far. / But in the end, it doesn’t even matter.
I still don’t get the hate against Linkin Park. Or that song. It seems appropriate now as I find myself writing in my new journal at the crack of dawn in London-town in the room I picked out as mine.
We’ve just arrived to London almost an hour ago, Papi all tight as we gone through customs at Heathrow airport. Not that I blame him. It’s the least favorite part of all of our trips where the custom officers stares at you, asks stupid questions to your parents, then asks you stupid questions about what are you excited about moving into the UK.
I had to bite my tongue and lie as I said, “Hopefully, I’ll make new friends.” I said it with such a sweet smile on my face that I hope that I gave that man diabetes.
.
.
-_-
.
*rolls eyes*
Mami once said I shouldn’t wish bad things upon people, especially when they did nothing to you…but it’s hard. Really hard when you’re somewhere you don’t want to be.
Maybe I should try looking at what I do want can and can do…at least that’s what my godfather, Aiden O’Ruairc, said. He gave me one of his family ring as a parting gift in case I ever needed anything while in the UK at my birthday party…it was the last reunion I had at my home before we had to fly over here a few days later. And now we’re here.
And now, taking a second look at the family ring he gave me, it’s hard to believe Padrino Aiden would give me something as nice and fancy as this O’Ruairc ring. It’s made out of silver and had engravings on the inside with Ogham letters.
Runes to be exact.
Also known as written spells. Spells that are activated if you push your magic into it.
If I wanted to, I could find what they mean…but with everything all mixed up in different boxes that my parents shipped to London to our new “home”, it’s not worth looking for it right now.
I miss home.
I miss the grass outside our house. The nosy neighbors. Even hearing the nomaj high school marching band practicing on Saturday mornings despite being a few blocks away.
I miss it all.
I didn’t appreciate living in Sewanhaka as much as I should have. I was too busy moaning leaving Jackson Heights considering how rough it was to adjust to living in Sewanhaka. It feels like a town stuck in the 19 -‘Americana’ - 50’s somehow.
Right…I should mention this journal: this is my second time moving. The first was when I was seven.
And now I’m fourteen.
I guess there’s something to be said about the number seven screwing things up for me.
But I guess going back to my main point of all of this…I miss home.
I know I shouldn’t play it on repeat, but Boulevard of Broken Dream really does feel like feel like the soundtrack of my life. I’ve never really had a steady group of friends and once I did, once I had my circle that stayed…it’s gone.
It’s all back home.
Just like my wand.
(And between you and me journal…I might have “accidentally” left it at home on purpose…Can’t send me to some magic school in the middle of nowhere, Scotland without a wand, right? >=] )
Hopefully I can convince Mami y Papi to let me stay local >.<
There are good schools here in London…right?
…
[Journal entry 1, evening]
They woke me up from a nap. I feel dead. Like a zombie.
I hate zombies.
Or feeling like one.
But it’s rather important that I talk about this right now; apparently my new magical guardian had dropped by our new home to get me ‘sorted’ right away.
And the worst part?
I actually like the old geezer.
Eleazar Fig.
He looks like a grandpa, gives vibes as if Doc Brown and Mr. Rogers were in one person.
Unfortunately, leaving my wand at home’ wasn’t the best plan. Fig lent me his late wife’s wand and now I’ll feel guilty if I don’t practice with him in the summer. Stupid old man and his need to help me by guilting me into using his late wife wand…but Fig isn’t the worst.
He’s actually a decent old man. A fun lecturing grandpa so to speak.
He wants to see where I stand against Hogwarts students as far as magical abilities goes. I shouldn’t have mentioned to him I always struggled with magic due to how weak mine was compared to everyone else. Now all he wants to do is help me improve it. It’s doesn’t help that apparently he’s the professor for magical theory, so improving my magical usage is actually up his alley.
Even worse.
He makes it seem like Hogwarts is a fun place to be as I had my first lesson earlier this evening.
I like to hope not so.
….
@myokk remember that story that I once yapped to you about years ago that lead to the creation of my OC Iñaki? I dragged this draft out into daylights and finally published it on Tumblr at last 😂
Iñaki América Martinez Cariaga (or better known as Kiki to her friends) finally had it all. She finally managed to become a 90+ student in both magical and nomaj studies and get a handle of her strange weak magic.
But most of all, she finally had her core friend group at Excelsior.
That is until her dad got a new job that threw her family across the Atlantic from the Big Apple to London-town and her into some school she never heard of before in Scotland.
Now she’s back to square one as she tries to adjust to her new country, school and classmates she refuses to befriend if her dad’s work contract is only for a year long.
Hopefully.
Oh.
And dealing with her strange magic.
Because of course, her own life couldn’t be normal without her strange magic standing in the way. Especially when there’s more to her magic than what meets the eye when it decides to finally start maturing and bring chaos as per usual. Just what she needs as she deals with being the new kid at school.
Again.
At least she has her magicked iPod Touch to keep her sanity, right?
Outatime
Synopsis:
Iñaki "MC" Martinez Cariaga, a Hogwarts transfer student student from New York, finds herself stuck in the past after her ancient magic accidently sends her back in time from the year 2008 to 1890.
Now, Iñaki is trying to go home. However she has some trouble along the way.
A continuation of the oneshot, "A New York Yankee in Hogwarts' Courtyard, 1890".
->-> Outatime I
->-> Outatime II
->-> Outatime III
->-> Outatime IV
->-> Outatime V
->-> Outatime VI
->-> Outatime VII
->-> Outatime VIII
->-> Outatime IX
->-> Outatime X
Ghosts of Our Past
New Hogwarts transfer student Iñaki ends up meeting a ghost that claims he knows her. She had never met him before. Sebastian Sallow had met her more than a hundred years ago.
In which Iñaki meets ghost Sebastian (before she had accidentally time traveled to the past) on her first day of school.
An AU prequel to Outatime.
At First Glance
Synopsis:
It started off rather simple really.
At first glance, he only noticed the new fifth year with her unorthodox late arrival for sorting. While he was indifferent to the girl being sorted into Slytherin, he still clapped in support of his house.
He never expected that those small glances he took towards MC would lead into a world of adventure, friendship and unexpected pain from his own doing.
The water’s getting’ warm, so you might as well swim
My world’s on fire, how ‘bout yours?
That’s the way I like it, and I’ll never get bored
-All Star (1999), Smash Mouth
…
It was a bit over three weeks since you left New York.
I can’t believe I let them talk me into this. It was a thought you had multiple times as you found yourself waiting in the Camelot magical district in London. You were dressed in your finest clothes for the first day of school.
Your madre insisted.
But still, the button-up blouse, dark-navy scarf-tie that matched colors with your dress pants and the nice tan rugged tailcoat you got as a birthday gift did make you look nice and you weren’t against making good first impressions.
You looked good. Sophisticated even.
Even if you didn’t plan to befriend anyone at school.
You were only going to stay in the U.K. for a year.
You were so certain of it.
“Ah! It appears that we are almost ready to depart.” Professor Fig said as he came around the horse-less carriage that looked like it came from the 19th century. The two of you were in an empty street in one of the back alleys of magical London. Professor Fig needed to make a quick stop at the post office to pick up something before loading it onto the carriage.
Eleazar gave you a smile. A grandfather one. It was a smile that never stopped making you feel like you were snugging a warm towel that just came out of the dryer.
It was a smile that made you want to do you best too.
“It’s a pity we didn’t have a bit more time to spend on spellcasting. I presume you’ve been practicing the spells we worked on.” Prof. Fig said with a charmful smile and that knowing look in his eyes.
“I have, Doc.” You smirked as you flicked your new borrowed wand. It was different from your own custom made one. The old wand was made purely out of a tan-beige wood. While you weren’t sure what its core was made of, it wouldn’t surprise you if it was from a fire-based creature. The wood felt warm to you, even if you didn’t warm it up in your hands before. Whenever you could go to Macondo Avenida for your younger siblings' magical tutoring program, you would spend the afternoons practicing spells, charms and jinxes with your new borrowed wand.
While your parents were reasonably upset about you packing your wand in the wrong box that was sent to storage, at least Professor Fig was there to cool their lecture about setting an example for your siblings by saying it was probably for the better before he gave them a spiel about the Trace and other stuff meant to prevent minors from using magic in nomaj areas. Whenever you would get your original wand back, it wouldn’t have the Trace placed on it.
“Better to have a hidden wand that the British Magical Ministry doesn’t know, especially as a foreigner muggleborn minor. You never know when you might it need for safety.” Prof. Fig frowned before he smiled at you and handed you a tan-beige wand. “For the meanwhile, you can use this. You said your parents found a magical tutoring spot for you in one of immigrant magical communities in London? You should practice and get used to that wand until we can get you a proper one. It’ll be on me as your magical guardian.” He said with a wink and a smile before he handed you a list of spells to get your magic accustomed to your new magical foci.
The last two weeks of summer vacation was spent either being tourist in London, getting tutored in Macondo Avenida or studying under Prof. Fig in magic and learning about the British magical world and rules as part of an unofficial transfer student orientation. It wasn’t long before you started seeing him as a grandpa figure. Professor Fig laughed at that when you mentioned it at one of his daily visits. For some reason, it didn’t surprise you that he offered to sponsor you for Hogwarts enrollment placement instead letting you enroll in one of the other minor magical schools in London. A minor local magical school that you managed to convince your parents (during your first week in London) to let you go to since it was nearby home compared to Hogwarts, which was waaaay up north in Scotland.
Plus, you managed to make at least one or two friends at Macondo Ave who went to the local minor magical school.
But when your parents heard from Macondo Ave, the magical tutoring center, that Hogwarts was the best magical school in the U.K. and it would be a fool’s mistake to not let you go, they didn’t think twice of not sending you.
Well, actually they did when they learned that you wouldn’t have nomaj classes as well.
Then they agreed when Professor Fig promised to allow your nomaj education to continue in Hogwarts so at least you won’t be behind when you would return to New York when Papí’s contract would end in London. Professor Fig even promised to contact Excelsior, NYS Magical School System, to get the information needed for you to keep up with them and take the State Regents exam as needed.
As the two of you continued talking, with Prof. Fig praising you on how well you took with the secondhand wand, the distinguishable “POP” of an apparition diverted both of your attention to the side to see an older man appear. He looked up at the buildings, lost as a New York City tourist. Then he turned around and saw the two of you; more specifically, Prof. Fig. “Oh! Eleazar!” The bow-tie man said with a smile as he made his way towards the two of you.
“George. Glad my rather cryptic description of our location didn’t thwart your finding us.” Professor Fig said with glee as the two men shook hands.
“I’ve apparited to more vaguely defined destinations than this.” George chuckled. “Though, I confess I may have miscalculated sightly on my first try. Gave quite the fright to some theatre-goers in the West End.” He winked at you before the three of you laughed.
“It’s been much too long.” Professor Fig started. “When I received your owl, I must say I-”
“Ehhh, best not speak here, Eleazar. Hmmm?” George said.
“Of course. Why doen’t we speak en route to Hogwarts? We have a start-of-term feast and a Sorting Ceremony to get to. I’ll drop you off at Hogsmeade.” Professor Fig smiled as he looked at you.
“Wonderful idea. As long as your young charge here doesn’t mind me tagging along.” George smiled.
“Not at all sir.” You grinned.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” George narrowed his eyebrows with a determined smile, as if trying to solve the mystery of your accent. An accent you were surprised that you carried the moment you stepped foot on English soil.
“She’s the new transfer student George and my new ward. A determined one at that.” Professor Fig said with pride. He heard of how often you practiced with your borrowed wand at Macondo Ave from the tutors.
“Apologies, where are my matters.” George said as he gave out his hand. “George Osric at your service. I’m a friend of your magical guardian, Eleazar. You can call me George.”
You shook his hand with a mirrored smile.
“Nice to meet you George. My name is Iñaki Martinez-Cariaga…but you can call me MC for short.” You grinned. It was a nickname that came when you asked Prof. Fig if he can call you Ms. MC instead of saying your full double last name when the two of you were getting acquainted during the summer spell sessions he had with you. Then it became shorten down to MC and he called you that ever since. He even offered to share the nickname to the rest of the staff when you learned that the professor would call their students by their last name, not first like back in America.
“Where are you from? Are you a muggeborn?” George asked.
While his eyes are kindly curious, I guess my godfather Aiden wasn’t wrong at all about blood status being a thing here. You frowned mentally.
“It’s okay MC, George here isn’t that sort of people your godfather Aiden O’Ruairc warned you about. You can trust him.” Prof. Fig said with a smile.
“I’m from the US George. Specifically, New York. My godfather told me to say half-blood since my great grandmother was magic…so it’s technically true. She taught me a thing or two.” You lied with a half-smile. While it wasn’t far off from the truth, she was simply a curandera, closer to a hedge witch than a mage. She was the reason you had a family grimoire in the first place on your Mami’s side. But it wasn’t full of spells. It was just an old family medicinal journal on plants and their properties when it comes to healing. The only heirloom that she left you that you considered as “magical” was her Mayan dagger. It was a short obsidian knife with a jade handle. She ended up gifting it to you, claiming it would serve you better far more than it did for her.
The only thing you ever used it for was for prepping potions ingredients. It had an edge like no other, spelled to never flake. It was also a major reason why you ended up getting decent grades on any potions you made.
“Ah, no surprise there, Martinez is a magical surname after all. Doesn’t surprise me that magic has returned in your bloodline too. And only two skipped generations as well!” George chuckled with a friendly smile.
You couldn’t help but beam with a grin.
“If you don’t mind, let’s continue our conversation in the carriage George and MC.” Professor Fig said as he opened the door with his magic. “After you.” He said, looking at you with a smile.
“Ages since I’ve been to the castle. Would be good to see the old pile of rocks again.” George said as you got on the old (or was it new?) vehicle. It looked like as if Queen Victoria could have rode it while Jack the Ripper roamed the London streets. That's how antiqued it looked. Moments later the vehicle took off.
Literally.
Whatever was pulling this carriage sure could fly. Or was it just more magic? Or a magical animal?
It has to be some type of magical animal. The flying carriage had a coachman!
While flying wasn’t new to you, either by plane or broom, carriage flight was a new way to soar.
You tuned out of the conversation that Prof. Fig and George had with each other, most consisted of them catching up with each other. In the meanwhile, you took out your magickied iPod touch from your pocket and started playing Sudoku. It rather surprised you that George hadn’t noticed it. It was the first thing Prof. Fig noted when he caught you taking a break on it before greeting you at Macondo Ave one day. He was surprised that magicked electronics existed. The UK never bothered into checking into nomaj technological development like the Americas, Asia or even certain parts of Europe did. You even heard there were parts in Africa that had their own companies and brands that would export their magick electronic goods.
But for some reason, it never caught on in the UK, even if it did in Ireland from what your Irish padrino Aiden said.
You played on your iPod Touch for a while, not bothering to look out when gray clouds surrounded the three you and hid the landscape view from below. You only tuned into their conversation when George said,
“Have you seen this Eleazor?” followed by the sounds of crumbling paper.
You looked up and read it. Something about Ranrok and a goblin rebellion.
You haven’t seen or met a goblin before until arriving in London when you had to stop by the bank. While different from the Pukwudgies you met back home, you were rather indifferent to them.
“I have. Opinions differ as to how great a threat Ranrok really is. Some say he’s trying to fill a power vacuum left by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.”
You sighed as the talk turned into more magical British politics that you didn’t care for.
BTZ!
Then you felt something.
BTZZZ!!
Your weird magical Spidey sense went off, warning you of a strong magical core coming your way. You pocketed your iPod Touch and looked out the window, trying to see though all the grey with your eyes that your weird magic already sensed.
You glanced back at Prof. Fig, uncertain of what to say.
How do you even explain you sensed something when you couldn’t even see it?
“And it was your wife, Eleazar, who alerted me to his activities months ago.” George said.
“Miriam? How?” Prof. Fig said in shock.
You already knew of his late wife Miriam and her death. It came up during a conversation about family loss. You told him you missed your late grandfather who passed a couple of months before you moved here. He told you of his late wife who died a while ago. It was one of the first bonding sessions the two of you had, going over how to deal with grief. It never meant that the pain left as you could tell by the sad look in Prof. Fig’s grey eyes. But it did become lighter to bear with the light smile he would carry as he would tell you stories of her.
George sighed.
“She wrote to me about Ranrok before she died – wondering what the Ministry knew about his activities.”
Prof. Fig looked to the side, grief and questions flowing through his mind.
“Before I could respond, I received this.” George said before he pulled out what appeared to be pneumatic tube canister you seen in a museum before. The only difference from the other canisters, was the design logo onto of it. It looked like spiral flames.
And it was glowing a magical blue.
“It was the last thing she sent me Eleazar.” George said looking at it before he looked up to Prof. Fig. “It came via her owl – but with no correspondence. I can only assume-”
“That she had to get rid of it quickly to keep it safe.” Prof. Fig stated as he took it from George.
“Presumably from Ranrok.” George quipped with a frown as Prof. Fig touched the canister all around. “I cannot open it. Whatever magic protects this is powerful indeed.”
“It looks like goblin metal.” Prof. Fig said as he looked at you and back at the mysterious canister before pointing at the logo. “That symbol–”
“What’s up with that magical blue glow Professor Fig?” You said, using his formal name. You didn't dare use his nickname in front of his colleague . But you also couldn’t help but ask your question with narrowed eyebrows and a frown.
This was too interesting to not get involved.
While your Mamí would had scolded you for joining in an adult conversation, you couldn’t help mention it. Surely they saw that glow too! And the grown-ups didn’t seem to mind you joining the convo if they were talking about the magical metal tube in front of you.
Prof. Fig looked at you and back to the magical canister tube.
“I don’t see a glow.” He frowned.
“Nor do I.” George said he said as he looked at you.
You pouted, now regretting even bringing it up as both men looked at you.
“Where do you even see this glow MC?” Prof. Fig asked as he handed you the magical canister.
The moment both of your hands held the end points of the metal tube did you feel your own magic, the weird one that you were used to associating with your spidey senses and feeling other people’s magic and causing you to enter a world of chaos, rush out to greet the magic in the tube with a blue-white glow. The tube’s magic did the same, feeling more like a message that said,
Welcome home young one.
Then the magic canister opened, revealing a key with the same spiral fire symbol as its handle.
Pick the key up and all shall be explained in time. The magic said.
“Merlin’s beard!” George gasped as you felt a compulsion to pick the key up. “How did you–”
“Wait.” Prof. Fig said. You stopped and shook yourself out a daze you didn’t realize you were in. Immediately Prof. Fig took the canister back as you looked up see George studying the magical key in awe. “We do not know what–”
Then George was gone.
So was his half of the carriage.
The image was soon replaced by a dragon flying away with it as if it was a sheep as you and Prof. Fig struggled to keep your hold on the reminder half of the carriage.
I'm not a fan of dying today. You thought.
The dragon looked towards your direction, red wisps of magic surrounding it as it C R U N C H E D on the other half of the carriage.
On George.
It stared at you, as if to say, You’re next.
You couldn’t help it and looked away.
You looked away towards the front of the carriage as suddenly, an answer to your earlier question about what was pulling the carriage revealed itself. It was as if an invisible blanket fell off of them, revealing midnight black winged bone-skinny horses.
“Thestrals.” You gasped.
While you always thought they were just of myths, like something adults made up to get a one-up on kids, reality said otherwise.
“Yah! YAH!” The carriage driver yelled, willing the horses to go faster.
You felt that magical Spidey sense go off again, feeling a magical power loading up behind you. You glanced back at the dragon to see its maw wide open and an orange glow in it mouth.
“JUMP!” Prof. Fig yelled.
Soon you were freefalling.
Something stuck your legs, making you spin and twirl out of your control for a moment.
While I always wanted to skydiving, this wasn’t what I had in mind. You thought as you free-fell down to earth. A quick turn of your body, you saw the dragon tackle the rest of the carriage, like a peregrine hawk to a pigeon.
As the two of you continued to free fall, Prof. Fig yelled out,
“THE KEY!”
Another turn of your body, you saw the dragon coming back for seconds.
“DOC, THE DRAGON’S COMING!” You screamed.
“GIVE ME YOUR HAND!” He yelled, reaching his hand towards you.
Pretending like you were in water, you dove towards him and reached your hand out.
He grabbed your wrist, pulling you towards him as your felt the magical presence of the dragon come closer and closer. You didn’t even need to turn around to see it. It was as it as if you had magical eyes in the back of your head as your weird magic was making a magical mental sonar image of the beast diving towards you.
And he was ready for round two of human flesh.
“THE DRAGON!” You screamed.
“ACCIO!” The professor yelled, throwing his hand at the key.
The moment the key came to his hand, you felt a familiar pull at your navel as your odd magic greeted the key's magic.
It is time you learn of your powers. It hummed to your mind.
Iñaki América Martinez Cariaga (or better known as Kiki to her friends) finally had it all. She finally managed to become a 90+ student in both magical and nomaj studies and get a handle of her strange weak magic.
But most of all, she finally had her core friend group at Excelsior.
That is until her dad got a new job that threw her family across the Atlantic from the Big Apple to London-town and her into some school she never heard of before in Scotland.
Now she’s back to square one as she tries to adjust to her new country, school and classmates she refuses to befriend if her dad’s work contract is only for a year long.
Hopefully.
Oh.
And dealing with her strange magic.
Because of course, her own life couldn’t be normal without her strange magic standing in the way. Especially when there’s more to her magic than what meets the eye when it decides to finally mature and bring chaos as per usual. Just what she needs as she deals with being the new kid at school.
Again.
At least she has her magicked iPod touch to keep her sanity, right?
