The heritage of the Ruerik family usually manifests in the eldest son of each generation. Following a surge of magic, they experience a massive increase in magical power and a strengthening of the soul. They undergo two such magical surges in their lifetimes, and their magic only stabilizes and stops growing after the second surge at the age of sixteen.
However, every advantage has its drawbacks. During the initial stages of a magical surge, they are extremely vulnerable to attacks, which can lead to soul deficiency or bodily harm. Therefore, whenever this moment arrives, the head of the Ruerik family places the eldest son facing the surge into a soul-soothing magical array to ensure that his soul and body remain undisturbed and unharmed throughout the magical surge.
"Ali, come here." Alistair's mother, Cali, was a gentle woman with reddish-brown curly hair. Like Alistair's grandmother, she was a Muggle, but this had never affected the love between Alistair's mother and his father. "Your father has to work on short notice today, so he isn't home."
"Mom," Alistair took her hand, "if I..."
Alistair was a bit bewildered about what was about to happen. He worried that someone would discover him, that others would think he was a Dark wizard who had usurped someone else's body. He did not even dare to look at everything around him too closely.
"Don't worry, Ali." Cali held Alistair's hand, thanked Professor McGonagall, and then led Alistair toward the study.
"Dad, Ali is here." Alistair's grandfather, Ventel, was a very rigid and serious man. On ordinary days, he had no other activities besides reading books and newspapers, and no one could ever persuade him otherwise. The only person who could keep him in line was Alistair's grandmother, but unfortunately, she had passed away from illness two years ago.
A Muggle's life is always shorter than a wizard's, and Ventel was only sixty-one this year.
Muggles might wonder: even if their lives are short, surely they can still experience life at sixty! In fact, Alistair's grandmother was six years older than Alistair's grandfather.
Yes, it was a so-called relationship where the woman was older. The wizarding world has never placed importance on age.
"What is this specifically about?" Ventel asked solemnly.
Alistair was a bit nervous, deeply worried that he would expose himself in front of his grandfather. "The other day during dinner, I used 'Scourgify' without my wand... I don't even know why..."
Ventel pondered for a moment. "It sounds like a sudden surge of magic. Cali, take him to that room in the basement. We need to test Alistair's magic."
Ventel turned around to invite their family doctor, Hodi, over.
Cali led Alistair down the stairs and into one of the rooms in the basement.
That room was very spacious, with only a magical array in the center, and right in the middle of the array was an object resembling a crystal ball.
Dr. Hodi asked Alistair to step into the magical array and then channel his magic into the sphere.
To be honest, Alistair still didn't quite understand this thing called magic. Something that had seemed illusory to him suddenly became real one day, leaving him feeling somewhat dazed.
Alistair only felt that most of the time, as long as he concentrated in his mind, a warm current would flow from his heart to his right hand.
Alistair closed his eyes and began to imagine channeling the magic from his heart to his hands, and then transmitting it into the sphere.
A white light emanated from the sphere, first filling the entire sphere before the light began to spread outward from within, gradually expanding and growing brighter until white light filled the entire array.
Ventel, Cali, and Hodi could no longer see Alistair inside the array; they only felt that the white light seen from outside the array was somewhat dazzling. After about ten seconds, the light emitted by the sphere began to flicker on and off, and Hodi looked at the white light in deep thought.
"That's enough, Ali, stop."
Immediately, the white light in the array began to dissipate, revealing its original appearance. Alistair stood there looking blankly.
"How does it look?" Ventel looked at Mr. Hodi.
"Magic has a tendency to increase, and it is currently quite unstable. It's best to take a magic stabilizer every day." Mr. Hodi paused. "Could Ali's magical surge have happened earlier than expected?"
Ventel frowned. "For hundreds of years, our ancestors always experienced their magical surges at ages twelve and sixteen. It's unlikely that Ali..."
"Let's check his soul." Checking the soul requires a person to lower their guard and completely surrender to the other party in order for the examination to be conducted safely. If the soul generates any resistance, the person casting the magic will suffer a backlash.
Ventel led Hodi and the others to another room. It was as clean and tidy as the previous one, with no superfluous objects whatsoever, save for a bed covered with white bedding.
"Ali, lie down on it," Ventel said.
That white bed featured a soul-soothing array, which, just like the previous sphere array, had been passed down by their ancestors to protect their descendants.
Alistair did as Ventel said and lay down. He thought that the absolute worst that could happen would be the discovery that the soul in this body wasn't their child.
This bed seemed to possess magic; not long after Alistair lay down, he felt drowsy. With his consciousness blurred, he sensed a gaze scrutinizing his soul, making him somewhat uncomfortable, but he put up no resistance because of it. Soon, Alistair fell asleep under that gaze.
Mr. Hodi withdrew his wand. "This is rather strange. Ali's soul is extremely stable—more stable than at any other time—yet a bit weak, just like... having just gone through a surge."
"What!" Cali cried out in alarm from the side. "You mean Ali has already gone through a surge without our knowledge?!"
"It is highly probable, Madam."
"But a magical surge isn't supposed to happen until age twelve!" This was a full year early!
"Yes, Madam," Hodi said. "This situation has never happened before. It might be related to Alistair's physical constitution."
Before starting school, Alistair's constitution had always been somewhat weaker than others, and he was prone to sleeping. Therefore, when Alistair went off to Hogwarts to study, Cali had been very worried that he wouldn't be able to keep up with others, and had even gone so far as to make a special request to Professor McGonagall, asking her to keep a close eye on Alistair's situation.
Yet after starting school, Alistair behaved just like an ordinary child, and was even much more active than before.
"I suggest we have him take a magic stabilizer first. As for his soul, his condition is still considered good, so I don't think there will be any problems."
"Oh, experiencing a magical surge early won't cause him any harm, will it?" Cali looked at Alistair with concern.
"Rest assured, Madam." Mr. Hodi looked at Ventel. "Young master has no problems whatsoever, aside from his magic being slightly unstable. However, although I can provide the magic stabilizer, medicines of this kind tend to have their best potency right when freshly made. St. Mungo's is particularly busy during this period, and young master Alistair needs to attend school, so I'm afraid..."
Ventel frowned, and Mr. Hodi continued, "If you could persuade Snape to brew the medicine for young master Alistair, that would be for the best."
Snape was recognized throughout the wizarding world as the premier Potions Master, and his potions possessed efficacy that no one else could match.