Rani Lightwood

## Rani Gracelyn Lightwood

"*I also admire the fact that you’re able to put grudges to the side, even if it’s only to an extent. There are not many people in this world capable of that.*"
— Rani to Rea Zoldyck immediately after the Registry leak
**Rani Gracelyn Lightwood** is the current Deputy Auror and previous Chief Auror to the Ministry's Auror Division. During the uprise of Grux she served under the previous Chief Auror, Matt Griffiths as his deputy and took over the role when he died. Once Grux was defeated she stepped down due to losing her magic, before returning to duty after getting it back with the help of Matt Campbell and Joel Crestello

She is the daughter of Ray Lightwood, the old Vampire Advisor during the second Werewolf vs Vampire war, and Annalise Lightwood the descendant of the Larkspur clan. She has two siblings, Alexander and Cadence Lightwood, and three children; Clementine Lightwood, Ayaka Lightwood and Kaito Lightwood, the first of whom was adopted. Despite going by the name "Lightwood", Rani's birth name was "Larkspur." She was the previous owner of her family lines Larkspur Flower.

## Biography

### Early Life - Japan

Rani Gracelyn Larkspur was born to Annalise and Ray Larkspur on the 1st of May 1999 at the University of Tokyo Hospital at 4:13pm. Annalise Taylor Larkspur is a pure blooded witch who attended the Japanese Wizarding school when she was younger. She’d spent her entire life living in Japan in their family’s mansion. On the other hand, her father, Ray James Larkspur, previously Eliyah James Alakko, was a 3,000 year old vampire who had been turned before the common era. Prior to Rani’s birth, Ray had also been an advisor for the Vampire King in England, where he was praised for assisting the remaining vampires from the clan into safety following the second werewolf vs vampire war.

Rani spent the first 7 years of her life living with her parents in their estate in Japan. The household employed over 150 servants and were known as one of the most prestigious clans in the area. However, the Larkspur family secret regarding the special abilities of the family flower had gathered the attention of a dark society of magicless witches and wizards. They called themselves Those who slither in the Dark and hunted the family to find the special ingredient. Although their intentions were not known to the family, they sought the power as the flower, when used correctly, could be used to revive a person from the dead depending on the circumstances and time of the death. Originally in order to continue living in Japan, Ray and Annalise made an agreement with one of the most renowned Assassin families in the underworld. The agreement was that in return for protection for their daughter, upon coming of age their youngest son and school friend of Rani’s, Ajax Hitoshi Fukuhara, and their daughter would marry. The agreement was made when Rani was 6, and Ajax was 7. Unfortunately less than 6 months later the couple came to realize that Those Who Slither In The Dark were targeting their daughter more directly, which resulted in a kidnapping and even attempted murder, and even with the help from the Fukuhara’s, she was still in danger. As such the family made the decision to leave Japan and move to England just over a year after the agreement was made.

### Early Life - England

After moving to the UK, Rani and her parents settled down within one of London’s most popular suburbs. They lived within a two story home in a Cousy street, and were close with the children and other families that lived around them. The following year when Rani was 8, Annalise and Ray welcomed two more additions to their family; twins. Cadence Naomi Larkspur and Alexander Henry Larkspur Rani has always prided herself on being their big sister, and is extremely close with both of them even as they grew up. Although they fought like any other siblings, at the end of the day all three loved each other. Despite being a pure blooded magical family, the Larkspur family spent the majority of Rani’s childhood years living amongst the unmagicals. Despite this, both Ray and Annalise have always been very open about their true heritage, but have made sure to keep it a secret from their friends.

Following the Larkspur tradition, on Rani’s 12 birthday she was told the full history of her mothers family and was given her line’s Larkspur Flower. Rani was the eldest out of the pair's children and turned 12 first, thus the flower was placed into her care. The couple also explained to the then 12 year old the true reason they had to leave Japan, telling her about those who slither in the dark. In the past, people who have been in possession of a Larkspur Flower have claimed that it has granted them special skills and abilities. Those rumours are fake, however the flower can be used in extremely strong and ancient spells and potions, including a spell that is able to turn back time on a single object or person. When she was younger Rani expressed that the only strange event she’d encountered since owning the flower was that she healed quicker than others, however it was later discovered when she was an adult that it was due to the Vampire Genes running through her blood.

### Hogwarts

Thanks to the magical blood flowing through her veins, Rani eventually was invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her acceptance there was the reason the family moved and now resides in Gnollberg Port. There, she was sorted into the Hufflepuff house. During her time at Hogsworth, she met her best friend, Lilian Evermore. The two would spend hours together, and often her classmates would say that you would never find them apart.

Everything was going well for Lillian and Rani. That was until Rani’s 7th year. It had been Lillian’s birthday and Rani had been out all day getting her a gift. When she returned, however, what she found that day still haunts her. When she opened the door to the room she shared with Lillian, she discovered the room covered in blood. The walls, the floor, even the furniture throughout the room were stained red. In the middle of the room was Lillian’s body, the window to the room wide open with a strong breeze coming inside. Lillian had been murdered.

The days following her best friend’s death, Rani fell off the face of the earth. Her fellow students had absolutely no idea where she was, and when her teachers were asked about her whereabouts they wouldn’t answer. They did confirm that she was alright though. Rani later revealed that she had gone home to her parents for a few weeks. When Rani finally returned to Hogsworth, she wasn’t her old self. Her teachers and fellow students alike were worried about her. A month after the death of Lillian, Rani was spending time in the library on a dark and stormy night. One of the strikes of thunder eventually ended up knocking a book directly off of a shelf. Rani, who wasn’t aware of what the sound was originally, hesitantly got up to check it out. There, she discovered the book open to a certain page.

The book, in detail, spoke about the ministry and the different sub-departments. As Rani looked through the book, she came across a certain section that piqued her interest, the Aurors. This special group of trained individuals was in charge of maintaining order throughout the wizarding world, bringing peace and harmony. Something in Rani clicked that day, and she knew what she wanted to do. Her focus now was to make sure that no one else had to experience the pain she had been through, ever again. From that point forward, Rani would work her hardest in order to become an Auror and would graduate near the top of her class.

### Ministry

Upon Rani’s graduation from Hogwarts, Rani started working as an Auror for the ministry as soon as she could. She quickly discovered that she had a natural talent for the work. In the years following Rani would do her absolute best to move up the ranks, making it to Adept in record time. Not long after that, Rani went through the Medical Training program at the Ministry, where she was able to gain the qualifications needed to apply to be a Guardian. During her time on the force, she was often sent undercover to investigate the actions of the Dark Followers, the most important of which being the Dark Duel Election, where she was present when Joel Crestello was crowned the Dark Lord. Rani also worked under Shakti during her time at the Ministry, where she was forced to undergo torture training to ensure she wouldn’t spill the organisations secrets. Because of this ‘Training’, Rani developed a very strong pain tolerance to a large variety of torture methods and pains. Upon Shakti’s defeat and Matt Griffiths' appointment, her efforts and skills were quickly acknowledged under the new leadership.

Matt appointed her as Deputy Auror at the young age of 22. For the following few years Rani would work diligently as the Deputy Auror, a friendly and calming face to all in the workforce. Not only did she befriend the majority of Auror, she also was able to create personal friendships with members from other allegiances along the way. Many members saw her as not just their boss, but someone they could turn to when they had trouble. Upon becoming the Deputy Auror, Rani and her entire family changed their names from Larkspur to Lightwood. Knowing that their eldest daughter would be in the spotlight now, the change was an attempt to throw Those who Slither in the Dark off their tracks.

Rani stood by Matt right up until his death at the hands of the Mastermind Grux. Upon Matt’s death, Rani was extremely distraught by the news, however her ability to disconnect from her own personal feelings assisted her during the countless interviews and meetings that followed, including her promotion to Chief Auror. As Chief Auror, Rani intended to continue down the path her friend and previous Boss had set the allegiance on. She deemed that stopping Grux and restoring peace to the community was vital in achieving their original goal, so she happily teamed up with the leaders of the 4 other allegiances and their inner circle members. Both their individual and group battles with Grux eventually led to the end of a long war in the very middle of Joel Crestello’s bank vault. Joel managed to stab the goblin and ended the ritual, however following the orders of the Dark Lord, Henry Chimera killed Grux and let out a large explosion of magic in the process. The ritual Grux had been trying to perform was to take away the entire world’s magic, and was becoming a vessel of pure energy. In the vault Rani had taken the foot of the blast, and had lost her magic. Being unable to cast spells or protect the wizarding world, Rani begrudgingly stepped down from her position, leaving the fate of the future in her co-workers hands.

### Post Grux

Following stepping down from her position as Chief Auror and taking a step back from the spotlight all together, Rani was eventually contacted by Ajax Fukuhara, who had recently learnt from his own parents about the agreement made between them back all that time ago. He’d flown to England to find her, being under the impression that she was unaware of it. While Rani was certainly close to him she didn’t feel that way towards him at the time, and deemed that the two had been away from each other for two long to immediately agree to proceed with the marriage. In respect for both her parents and her friendship with Ajax, Rani decided to spend the next few months getting to know him again. While Ajax’s feelings for her continue to grow, Rani found herself slowly falling in love with her childhood best friend. Although she didn’t want to recognise it at first, and even originally told Ajax she didn’t want to put him in danger so she didn’t want to go through with it, he managed to convince her by confessing his own love to her.

On the 27th of November 2022, months after the battle in the Crestello vault had occurred, Ajax and Rani married in front of old friends and families, members from all allegiances back when Rani had been active, coming to attend. The previous Lord of the Phoenixes, Joshua Pendragon, even officiated, which pathed the way for an even closer relationship between the two. Following the event, Ajax took on the Lightwood name.  Almost a year later on the 14th of October 2023 Rani gave birth to a pair of twins; the eldest, a girl, Ayaka Lightwood and the youngest, a boy, Kaito Lightwood. The family of four bought a Japanese styled mansion on the outskirts of London, hidden underneath magic to separate themselves from the world.

Sometime after that, with help from Matt Campbell, he and Joel were able to restore Rani's magic. Following the completion of the ritual, Rani then later returned to the Ministry as the Deputy Auror for Violette Carstairs after she was promoted to chief following Will Lockhart's departure.

## Personality and Traits

"*We can work out how to handle this together. Rely on us. We’ll help. Just tell me how.*"
— Rani to Violette Carstairs after returning from India
Rani is known to be kind, friendly, loyal and protective of her friends and coworkers. She demonstrates a care for the people of the wizarding world and overall is an extraverted individual, who very rarely judges individuals based solely on their allegiance. She is often the person her friends turn to for advice, and has been noted to know what to say in order to make someone feel better. She is a people person, which is both a strength and a weakness, and she often tries to compromise with everyone, avoiding making people upset. Recently, however, since returning from losing her magic, Rani has developed a less patient attitude towards humanity as a whole, and seems not to be trying to please everyone as often.

In times of extreme stress or due to extreme circumstances, Rani does have moments where she is capable of "switching off" her emotions. In these moments she disregards her normal attempts at compromise and keeping everyone happy to instead handle a situation. This was demonstrate during McKenna Varulv's arrest, where after she punched Rani, she disconnected from her emotions and proceeded to arrest her. In this state, however, Rani does not become hostile, rude, or aggressive. This is a protective instinct Rani developed when she was younger due to her experiences with Those who slither in the Dark.

## Magical Abilities and Skills

* **Vampiric Bloodline**
	+ **Increased Healing** - Due to her vampiric heritage from Ray Lightwood, Rani heals from physical injuries and wounds much quicker than others. Initially she believed this was due to the Larkspur flower, but that was found to be untrue. Furthermore she very rarely gets sick, including colds.
	+ **Lycanthropy Immunity** - It has been a known fact that an individual cannot be both a vampire and a werewolf at the same time, however despite the fact she is human, Rani cannot be turned into a werewolf. This is due to the inactive vampire genes in her DNA which cancel out the Lycanthropy virus before it has a chance to take effect.

"*I do know of beings called Dhampirs - those who are half-human and half-vampire. I don't know if these beings actually exist; I've only ever heard of them in myths. I suppose you could call yourself that, if you like that label.*"
— Abigail Varulv to Rani after learning Ray Lightwood is a Vampire
* **Hand to Hand Combat Training** - Rani took specialised training in fighting without the use of magic or her wand. This means that she is proficient both fighting with her wand and without it, meaning she is not at a disadvantage when her wand is taken.
* **Medical Training** - Rani received medical training through the ministry when she became a Guardian, when the role existed. Therefore she is knowledgable regarding medical treatments for general injuries and illnesses. She is not familiar with treatments specialised for vampires or werewolves though.
* **Languages** - Rani is fluent in Japanese due to her Japanese heritage and English. She additionally knows small amounts of Indian and Spanish that she has learnt over time.

## Possessions

* **Wand:** 9 Inch wand made of Cherry Wood with a Phoenix Feather core. Rigid flexibility.
* **Yellow Flower Crown:** Rani wears an enchanted flower crown held together by magical vines with yellow Japanese roses attached. It's unclear where she got it from.
* **Larkspur Flower**: Being the eldest child of Annalise Larkspur meant that she inherited her family lines Larkspur Flower, as dictated by family tradition. She held on to the flower for close to two decades before she passed it on to her eldest child, Clementine Lightwood, despite her being adopted.
* **IPhone:** Rani owns a Silver iPhone 14 from the muggle world that she very rarely uses. It generally stays at home unless she has business in the muggle world. She is familiar with how to use it, but has only a limited amount of contacts saved on it, including her own mum and dad.
* **Melodie:** A female phoenix that Rani accidentally discovered one day during her training to become an Auror. Since then the two have been inseparable, with Melodie capable of taking orders from other Auror members when necessary.

## Relationships

### Family

#### Clementine Lightwood

(DESCRIPTION)

"*I’m truly happy for you, Clem. You keep living your best life, and you know we’ll be there for you whenever you need it.*"
— Rani to Clementine Lightwood while meeting in the void

### Friendships

#### **McKenna Varulv**

(DESCRIPTION)

"*And truthfully, what I saw then was a child, who was throwing a tantrum. But do you wanna know who I see now, regardless of where we currently are? My friend. My friend who, if the worst were to happen, I would trust Ayaka and Kaito to.*"
— Rani to McKenna Varulv following her arrest
## Trivia

* Rani’s birth name was Rani Gracelyn Larkspur
* Rani was named after a Tinkerbell book named “Rani and the Mermaid Lagoon.”
* Rani is able to cast “Protello” without her wand. It’s the only wandless spell she can cast.