It’s not like you asked to be the way that you were, or to behave the way you do, it just comes naturally. Sometimes, we want to change the things about ourselves that we despise, idiosyncrasies that we have that others want to change but they can’t. No matter how hard they try - that we try - it’s a piece of ourselves that makes us who we are.
Some are born with something special inside us that is very unique from others and there’s nothing we can do than to accept it and to embrace it. It’s part of us for a reason and whatever reason that might be is for you to decide.
A boy - a very special boy - was born in Shanghai, China to a Korean Muggle-born by the name of Chi Ki-nam and a Chinese-British Pure-blood by the name of Yijun Qi. While his mother named him Qi Xinyi, he also went under Chi Ri-U - a name his father chose and took utmost pride in. Xinyi brought joy and happiness to his parents, his laughter was described as a beautiful melody and his smile could light up a room. His mother taught him how to speak Mandarin, his father taught him how to speak Korean and both parents taught him how to speak English. To say he was learning well was an understatement. The clever boy grasps the languages quickly, but he still had much to learn.
But, when Xinyi was only at the age of 7 did he witness his mother die. The two were driving home when a reckless drunk driver rammed straight into them. While Xinyi sustained some injuries, his mother made sure he was okay before Xinyi watch his mother die before he lost consciousness. Upon waking, Xinyi found himself in a white room with dim lights and in a bed. He was rather disoriented and looked over to his side to see his father sleeping in a chair next to him, the dark sky and crescent moon telling its time. A doctor came in, failing to notice the boy’s awakened state to wake up his father, telling him that his mother has, indeed, succumbed to her injuries and Xinyi will be in the hospital for severe bruising, broken ribs, scarring and a minor concussion. He was lucky enough to survive such a crash and only have a few injuries but his mother suffered a devastating fate. Xinyi was too weak to react, but he remember his father breaking down before losing consciousness once more.
A few weeks of physical and trauma therapy and Xinyi was able to be released from the hospital, but his father rarely spent time with Xinyi in the hospital and when he did, the foul stench of alcohol lingered in his breath which made the boy uncomfortable and weary around the man. But upon being released and arriving at home, his father kept his distance from his son since he saw too much of his wife in the boy.
This continued for some while before Kinam began to pack up everything and move to London, England. The lingering feeling of Yijun was too much to bear, so they left China and moved to England. And once arriving in England, Xinyi gave himself a new name - Leon. He didn’t know the exact reason onto the name switch, but for now, he wanted to be named after the constellation, Leo. Kinam didn’t think much of his son’s name change, but went along with it.
Xinyi - Leon - was having a hard time getting accustomed to the new country since all his friends he loved were back in China and he wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. The new surroundings scared him and all the new people made him intimidated, so he kept his distance from the children in school.
And before Leon knew it, he became the source of his father’s anger, blaming him for his mother’s death and being a constant reminder of her. Bruises would be left on his frail body and Leon would try his best to hide them with clothing such as long sleeve sweaters in the hot days. This continued to for a couple of years and this particular year is when Leon’s first signs of magic began to show.
When Leon was around 9 years old, his father cornered him in his bedroom, yelling at him while the boy was crying and wailing. And that’s when it happened. The lights began to dim and brighten uncontrollably, dim down to a near dark and brighten to the point where it was blinding. Kinam stopped and looked around in absolute horror. No. This… couldn’t be happening, could it? But then again…
Kinam backed off and fled the room to let Leon calm down. His son was, indeed, a half-blood. As much as he despised his son for being a grim reminder of his deceased wife, that’s exactly why he couldn’t let him go. He didn’t want to go to Hogwarts for his own selfish reasons and tried to keep Leon’s magic tendencies out of the way, kept bottled up, but it was involuntary.
Kinam would shave his hair to dehumanize him but it would always grow back right after, when his father would cause physical harm to the scared Leon, books from their bookshelf would fly off and right towards Kinam and many more due to fear and self-defense means, but that didn’t mean the abuse would let up. No, in fact, it just became heavier and heavier.
It wasn’t until Leon was at the age of 11 years when he received the letter to Hogwarts. Kinam knew that this would be a safe haven for his son and a place for him to control his magic abilities and learn more about the magical world. Kinam rejected, at first, but something made him agree to take Leon to Hogwarts.
And so, Leon went every year and had so much fun, but began to make himself out to be the greatest thing alive which pissed off many of his fellow students. But every time he returned home was another hell waiting for him. At the age of 16, he and his father were in a heated argument when Leon brought up the subject of his mother and he soon found himself a wand pointed at his face.
Leon was befuddled, at first, but his father explained he was a Muggle-born while his mother was a Pure-blood, making him a Half-blood and if he so much as brought up the subject of his mother again, he’d be in a world of hurt. But, Leon pressed on and he told him he wasn’t afraid of him anymore, even though he was lying, he didn't let his fear show.
Kinam was thinking of the words but he never meant to say them. But, there was so much hate and wrath in him that the words slipped out of him, a red flash from Kinam’s wand and before both of them knew it, a blood-curling scream ripped from Leon’s throat and many more as he began writhing on the ground as tears sprung from his eyes. Did Kinam regret muttering the words? No. Did he regret inflicting pain onto his son? Not in the slightest. Kinam still saw his wife in the boy, which made his heart hurt, but to him, he thought his son deserved the pain.
Thankfully, the pain only lasted for a few seconds but to Leon, it felt like an eternity. Once the pain subsided, the boy fled from his father in pure fear. But, where would he go? He didn’t know, but all he knew was he had to get somewhere safe and he didn’t want to stick around to see his father be taken to Azkaban. And so, his childhood was over and with no parents by his side, he will go forth as an adult, as Leon Chi.
Leon Chi 
