Chapter Text
Alexandra's excitement made the next week feel like it was the slowest week ever. This upcoming weekend was going to be filled with magic and new experiences. This was the first time she would introduce her alias to the magical world. Although excited at the opportunity to attend Hogwarts, the magical alias part was a bit intimidating. She knew in order to have a successful alias they had to alter her appearance for the period of time she was at Hogwarts. That scared her the most. She was far from a vain individual but it was going to be odd, and rather eerie for the mirror to reflect a face different than what she had seen for the last eleven years. She understood that this was essential as part of her surreptitious integration into the magical world.
Could you imagine the response if the magical world found out that the muggle royal family, was actually a Noble, pureblood family, with lineage tracing back to the times of Merlin? She simply could not imagine what that response would be. She just knew it was imperative to keep her identity a secret.
Meanwhile, there was no reason to dwell on things she could not change. This new identity would become part of her and she would do all she could to make it work. She spent the week leading up to her first Diagon Alley trip engrossed in Hogwarts: A History. Her parents were sure she could quote it at this point. She spent her time daydreaming of the night she would walk into the Great Hall for the first time, see the bewitched ceiling and find out what house she would call home. She was ready and excited to experience everything Hogwarts had to offer! The only problem was that she was going to have to wait nearly a whole year until she was able to go to Hogwarts due to her birthday being September 19th.
Across their home, in a hidden potions laboratory off of the kitchen, Diana was conversing with the royal families Chief Wizard, Elphias Dunkin. Chief Wizard was a secret position within the muggle government, held by a magically trained individual with the innate ability to blend into muggle life and culture. The individual who held this position was personally picked by the Queen and trained by the previous Chief Wizard before they left office, the position generally stayed within one family.
Elphias, a tall gentle wizard with chocolate brown hair and vibrant green eyes, was 38 years old. He had been working as the Chief Wizard for 10 years, and had spent the 10 earlier years training under his father to become Chief Wizard. He was appointed to his position upon graduation from Hogwarts and would serve as the Chief Wizard until his son or daughter was appointed by the Queen to replace him as he did his father. His current duties included working closely with Charles, Diana and a series of Charms, potions and Transfiguration masters, to establish Alexandra's identity for her time at Hogwarts. He was also in charge of ensuring polyjuice potion was properly stocked for any needs, like Charles and Dianas trip to Diagon Alley with Alexandra this weekend.
Elphias and Diana were currently discussing the particulars of the glamours for the Diagon Alley trip. They went over every detail that would need to be ironed out; from transportation to the Leaky Cauldron, when/where they would be meeting Professor McGonagall, the clothing that they would all be wearing, concealed security forces, the polyjuice potion for Diana and Charles with a piece of who they're turning into and having everything ready for turning Alexandra into Hermione. This trip would be a bit of a test run for the glamours. They needed to see how Alexandra would react to having the magic applied to her.
The polyjuice potion was nearly complete. Charles and Diana already had a piece of whom they were turning into, but that wouldn't be added until they took the potion. The focus shifted again to Alexandra's alias.
"Elphias, how are we going to ensure the glamour charms will stay put until we choose to remove them?" Diana questioned. She needed to ensure that the glamour charms could not be cancelled by a simple finite, or any of the wards around Hogwarts, which prevented disguised from being used. They also needed to make sure the glamour would survive the thief's downfall at Gringotts should she ever have to go through it.
Elphias responded with a well thought out response. "Well your highness, we will be using a spell of my creation which will lock the layers of glamour charms to The Princess to ensure that they cannot be removed without a particular key spell. I actually had this spell cleared with the Head Goblin at Gringotts."
Diana understood and thought that the theory made perfect sense, however they needed to perfect the casting of the charm on Her daughter while ensuring no one could unlock the charm. She enquired further, "So this coded locking charm, is it coded to one particular individual? How does it work?"
This line of questioning was one he was prepared for. The main concern of Diana and Charles would always be the safety and security of their daughter. "We will begin first with casting the layers of glamour charms on the princess. There shouldn't be too many as we don't want to change her appearance too much, so we should be able to succeed with less than five layers of magic." Diana was attentively listening to the Chief Wizard. "when we have completed the spell work, we will then lock the layers together and key the unlock to a password, not a person." Diana looked intrigued as Elphias completed his explanation.
"But who will have the password, and how do we ensure it will not fall into the wrong hands?" She questioned.
"You ma'am will be the one to determine the spell password and who it will be given to. I personally believe that the fewer who know the counter, the better. I would suggest only giving the password to Charles, The Queen and I."
Diana took a moment to collect her thoughts. Elphias was correct, the fewer people that knew, the better. She only had one more question for the Chief Wizard. "So only the password will release the glamour charms placed on Her?"
"Yes" said Elphias.
"Okay, lets get started. Firstly, how much are you planning to change my daughters appearance?"
"We will only be changing her appearance enough to ensure she looks like the Grangers. The Grangers are who will be masquerading as her muggle parents correct?"
Diana nodded her head yes and asked, "Then we should only need to change her hair, eye color, skin undertone, bone structure and height to match theirs."
"That should work." Said Elphias.
Diana needed a moment to just sit there and ponder her conversation with Elphias. They were about to change her daughters' physical appearance for a prolonged period of time. Simply to give Her a chance at a normal childhood and a chance for her to attend the magical school Hogwarts. The alias would complicate matters, but she knew it would all be worth it in the long run. She knew that Alexandra would fall in love with Hogwarts and that it was likely to become a second home. Diana wished she could send her daughter there without any glamour charms and without all the possibilities of complications. She knew her daughter was resilient to the core and she would prevail no matter what obstacles were placed in her way.
On the other end of the house Charles was talking to his personal assistant Dan Granger. Dan, along with his wife Emma would be pretending to be Hermione Jean Granger's parents while she attended Hogwarts. Dan and Charles were discussing everything from the hunting they did the weekend previously at Sandringham House, to their golf game and everything in between. What they had actually planned to do was double check the transportation and clothing choices for the upcoming trip to Diagon Alley.
"So are you ready to pretend to be me for a day?" Dan said as he smirked at Charles. Dan and Charles had been friends for years before they started working together. Dan was probably the only person that worked for him that could talk to him like that.
Laughing Charles said, "Not what so ever. It's going to be odd. To walk around in a place where no one knows who I am. Plus I have to pretend I haven't seen any of this magic stuff before. That should be entertaining. Dan, what was your reaction the first time we did magic in front of you?"
"I think the first time I saw magic I thought I was losing my mind. I saw The Princess perform accidental magic when she would just summon her stuffed animals to her. She did it three separate times before you saw it and explained everything to Emma and I. I'm just glad I wasn't losing my mind!" Dan laughed. "Charles I never got to tell you how honored Emma and I feel that you asked us to act as her muggle parents."
"Dan my friend, there is no one who I would trust more with my daughters safety and well being." Charles explained while slapping Dan on the back. Dan laughed at his friend and returned to the task at hand.
"Okay, back to business I'm afraid. What else did we have left to verify for this weekend?" Dan pondered while looking over the to do list. "Ah, yes. We just need to verify Elphias is set up. Security has already been established, they will be concealed and even we won't know who they are. You, Diana and Alexandra will be driving to the area of London where the Leaky Cauldron is. We have verified that there should be no issue with parking in the vicinity. Tomorrow Emma and I will bring you and Diana the appropriate clothing for the occasion. We will also need to do some shopping for Alexandra when she is Hermione as well. We should pick her up some plain clothes rather than her usual designer outfits. Perhaps a stop at Harrods would be beneficial."
"That would be a good idea. Lets bring that up to Diana and Elphias the next time we see them."
"Will do." Said Dan. "Other than that, things should be set for Saturday. How is The Princess doing with everything?"
"Alexandra is Alexandra." Charles laughed and shook his head. "She is unbelievably excited, but if trying to maintain a stiff upper lip. The only time she puts down her copy of Hogwarts: A History is when we take her to the stable. Sometimes I think She if more attached to Toulouse than she is to her mother and I."
"When Emma and I took her to the stable yesterday, we overheard the trainer saying that the Princess and Toulouse were a once in a lifetime combination. He thinks Alexandra has the potential to go to the Olympics." Dan shared
"Well she is certainly going to keep her mother and I on her toes." Charles replied. "Between her excitement for Hogwarts, her talent with Toulouse and her smarts She is going to be a monarch unlike any else When its her turn."
"Hopefully she will take as much enjoyment out of her schoolwork when she starts next year." Dan laughed.
"Knowing her, she will probably have all of her spell books memorized by this time next year." The two men laughed and continued with their preparations, making plans to meet with Emma, Diana and Elphias.
The meeting between the four adults went well and no additional concerns were raised about the upcoming trip. They decided that it was a good idea for the Grangers to take Hermione on a small trip to Harrods while wearing the glamour charms in the days before going to Diagon Alley.
The next morning Princess Alexandra awoke rather early. She was excited for the Diagon Alley trip tomorrow, but she was nervous about the introduction to her glamoured self. She knew today was the day she would meet her new alter ego, Hermione Jean Granger.
She followed her morning routine, showering and getting dressed immediately after waking, she then joined her family for breakfast. Following breakfast everyone retreated to the study where Elphias would be casting the glamour charms on Her for the first time.
"Little miss, we are going to apply the glamour charms to you. These charms will make you look related to the Grangers. As today is a short trip into the muggle world there will be no reason to lock the charms." Elphias explained to The Princess.
"Okay." She squeaked.
The Chief Wizard began to a series of complex glamour charms to alter Alexandra's appearance.
"This might feel a bit odd but feel free to close your eyes until I'm done."
She closed her eyes and immediately began to feel the magic. The first charm felt like someone cracked a dozen eggs on the top of her head then decided to blow dry her hair. The second, made her feel like a bucket of water had been dumped all over her. The third made her skin tingle and she felt like she was being compressed. The final spell made her eyes water and burn like she had kept her eyes open too long in the pool. Suddenly the magic stopped, and it was time for Her to see herself as Hermione for the first time. She looked in the mirror and subsequently passed out.