Chapter Text
He was going to blast whoever just woke him up into pieces. It was a Saturday, and he should be snuggled in at 2 a.m. His feet moved on their own as he stomped to the door, ready to give the bastard a piece of his mind. After flinging open the large plank of wood, Magnus’ eyes went wide.
“Jocelyn Fairchild.” He stared at her long, flowing dark red hair. Her pale skin was overrun with sweat as she gripped the hand of a small, cheery child. “Who is that?” His gaze locked on the child, “And why are you here?”
Jocelyn was a mystery to him. Her marriage to Valentine Morgenstern made her out to be a monster as well, but she betrayed her husband; so what was she?
“This is Clarissa, my daughter. I have a proposition for you,” Jocelyn calmly stated as if she had no worries.
Magnus’ brow furrowed, and he wondered what exactly that meant for him. “What could a Shadowhunter possibly offer me?” The warlock snarled, hoping she didn’t know about his pasts with the London Institute.
The woman smirked and let go of Clarissa’s hand. “Tessa Gray sent me. She said that you would know what to do with my daughter,” She looked at him straight in his cat-like eyes, “I need you to help me to hide her from the Valentine and the Circle.”
“You want me to help you and Valentine’s offspring?” Magnus grumbled out the question, “Tessa knows I don’t get into Shadowhunter affairs unless it involves me.”
Jocelyn raised her eyebrow. “The Circle is after Downworlders, including your kind. So I suggest you listen to me or die, Magnus Bane.” She watched as he closed his mouth, and nodded for her to continue. “Valentine has gone insane, that’s why I left with Luke. However, Clarissa is on his radar, I know it.”
“He didn’t even know about her, and thought you were dead,” Magnus huffed, “How did it change?”
The red-head sighed, “Can we come in first?”
He nodded and allowed the pair in. Clarissa giggled at her new surroundings as she looked in amazement; her small hands reached for objects, but Magnus grabbed her before she could touch anything. He knew how to hold children, his years with James Herondale and his sister taught the warlock well. She sat gently on his waist, and her legs wrapped around him as she looked over his shoulders; he kept an arm around her to make sure she couldn’t leap.
Jocelyn smiled sadly at the two of them. “Valentine discovered us as we hid out with Luke. He wanted to go after the wolf pack and found us there. Clarissa is the right age for her to be his daughter, so it clicked immediately. Now that monster knows about both of us, and I can’t risk being found,” She rubbed her neck, “That’s why I’m here to talk.” Her voice dropped, and she looked to the ground.
Magnus, now hugging Clarissa loosely to his hip, narrowed his eyes at her. “What can I do? There’s no way to ward Valentine off your trail with magic,” He grumbled.
The pale woman stared at him. “I don’t need magic. My ex-husband is after our daughter, not me. He’s looking for two people, that’s our problem,” Her hands folded together in front of her, “Clarissa can’t stay with me, not if we’re both to survive. I need you to find her new parents, ones that won’t tell her of the Shadow World.”
Magnus gaped at her words, almost dropping the small child in his arms in surprise. “You know, Jocelyn,” He growled, “Some might call it abandonment.”
“I love my daughter!” She cried. Her body shook, and her eyes filled with tears, “I just can’t keep Clarissa with me, especially when I’m needed by Luke.”
“So you choose the werewolf over your own kin?” The warlock snapped and gazed angrily at her.
Jocelyn shook her head and backed away. “I don’t have to answer you, just please do what I ask of you,” She replied before slamming the door behind her.
Suddenly, the only sound was a whimper in a child’s voice. Clarissa, in all her innocent glory, had tears running down her cheeks. “Where’s Mommy going?” She cried out in miserable curiosity. Her green eyes, so wide and pure, turned to him for an answer. Magnus had no solace to offer the child, so instead, he started to distract.
He sat her down in one of the armchairs in the room as he squatted down to her level. Trying to think of anything he could do, an idea sprung into his mind. Lifting up his hand in front of the girl’s eyes, his fingertips lit up with blue sparks.
Clarissa’s teary gaze fell to his fingers, then amazement lit up her features. “That’s cool!” She chortled and started to a clap as if to get him to do it again. “Mommy never did that before.”
At that moment, the warlock decided to damn it all. Jocelyn Fairchild abandoned her own daughter, so she had no right to make requests. “That’s because your mother was a Shadowhunter, one of the children of angels. You’re on too. I’m a warlock, that’s why I have magic,” He explained to the red-headed child, and smiled at her confused gaze.
“Don’t worry,” Magnus soothed her, “One day you will understand all that I say, Clarissa.” Her nose wrinkled at the name in disgust. “You don’t like being called that?” He inquired.
She shook her head, “Makes me sound old.”
The man snorted and thought for a second. “How about Clary?” He queried, “I think it suits you.” The young girl nodded her head in agreement.
Soon, Magnus stood up, and she attached to his hip once again. They explored his home and found her a room to stay in temporarily. He would need to contact a Shadowhunter family, it was the proper thing to do.
“Goodnight, Clary,” Magnus murmured softly to the snoozing form of the child as he walked out. Half-heartedly, the warlock told himself that he would find someone in when it was light out.
When morning time hit, he didn’t leave his home. It wasn’t until Tessa Gray came to visit a week later did he realize what was done.
“Tessa,” He whined, “What am I going to do?”
The woman before him grinned. “You’re going to keep that little girl, Magnus!” Tessa hissed. “Just remember that toddlers need care. Is Clary potty-trained?”
“I guess so,” Magnus groaned, “I don’t understand why I hesitated on trying to find her a foster family.”
Tessa chuckled, “The heart works in mysterious ways, I thought you would know that better than anyone. You are four hundred years old.”
“Age is just a number, honey.” He winked playfully, but still felt something gnawing at him. “What will people think of a warlock with a Shadowhunter child?” He asked, forgetting just who he was talking to.
She laughed and placed her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. “The same things people thought one hundred years ago when I had Jamie and Lucie, but you learn to face it,” Tessa elucidated, “Just protect her, she’s the daughter of Valentine Morgenstern for a reason.”
1994 passed soon enough, and Magnus learned how to take care of a young girl with exceptional powers; she was feisty, and sometimes overlooked by the classmates in her mundane class. Clary would complain about how she was the only Nephilim in the entire world who pretended to be mundane, and Magnus would gently remind her of why they lived the way they did.
“I know, I know,” A ten-year-old Clary spat, “Why can’t I get runes though?”
Magnus didn’t know how to answer his daughter when she asked things like that. He knew that hiding her away from her heritage completely would be wrong of him, but there was no way for her to have complete training without being exposed.
“Clary,” He gently started, “You are a Shadowhunter with angelic powers and the daughter of two Circle members.” The warlock saw the girl stiffen.
“But I’m your daughter first, that’s why my name is Clary Bane, not Morgenstern.” She hugged his waist.
Years passed, and things changed. Clary kept few friends, the longest one being a mundane named Simon Lewis. He didn’t know her secrets like her being a Shadowhunter, or Magnus being a warlock, but he was a companion. The father and daughter protected each other, both hoping their lives could someday change for the better.
When it was Clary’s sixteenth birthday, they weren’t expecting that change to come in the form of three Shadowhunters kicking down their front door.