Chapter 210: The Forgetting Charm Is Real
The Gray family all flinched at once. Fiona and Wade exchanged a glance. Ferdinand’s face tightened, his hand instinctively gripping the armrest a little harder.
After a pause, he spoke in a low, steady voice: “What’s going on? Why are you suddenly asking about this?”
Landon sat on the sofa, head in his hands, silent for a long moment before finally saying: “You know… why we sold everything and moved to America last year?”
“I remember… you said it was because your wife’s uncle in America passed away. He left you all his fortune.”
Ferdinand didn’t continue. Now, looking back, it was clear that the story they’d told had been nothing but a lie.
“I’m sorry,” Landon said, voice hollow. “There was no inheritance. We moved because Kariel received a letter… a letter of acceptance…”
“A letter of acceptance?” Fiona gasped, her voice cracking.
When the others turned to her, she quickly tried to cover it with a forced laugh. “What kind of letter… what kind of notice… could possibly make an entire family uproot from England?”
Landon gave a bitter smile. “It was… a letter from a magic school. Something called… Hogwarts…”
Wade’s expression darkened instantly. So did the others’. But Landon didn’t notice. He was already lost in the memory of that day.
Around a year and a half ago, one morning, Kariel had found a strange letter in their mailbox. It came from a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The envelope had no stamp. No one knew how it got there. The natural assumption? Someone had slipped it in during the night.
At first, Landon dismissed it as a scam—some kind of prank or marketing gimmick. The letter claimed a professor from the school would be visiting in two days to confirm the admission. But Landon told his family not to pay any attention to it.
Kariel, however, had a different idea.
The eleven-year-old boy ran to show off the letter to his friends. “I’m special!” he’d shouted. “I’m going to be a real wizard!”
Of course, the other children laughed. They thought he was crazy.
That night, a cloaked figure knocked on the Johnsons’ front door.
“He said… magic is real,” Landon murmured, his voice distant, as if still caught in that moment of disbelief. “He showed us things… right in front of us. No wands, no props—just pure magic. He made us float in midair. Turned our coffee table into a spider.”
Ferdinand leaned forward. “Did he say he was the Hogwarts professor? Come to prove magic?”
Then he realized—no. If that had been the case, the Johnsons wouldn’t have been able to leave Britain so easily.
Landon shook his head. “No… he said magic is real. But Hogwarts isn’t just a school. It’s a training ground—turning young wizards into soldiers. A place for brainwashing.”
Wade’s expression shifted. Strange. Unsettled.
That man’s logic… it mirrored Fudge’s perfectly.
If the Ministry of Magic had heard this, they’d have called him a kindred spirit.
“Then what else did he say?” Ferdinand pressed.
Landon swallowed. “He said… Hogwarts isn’t the paradise you think it is. It doesn’t just teach magic. It’s a factory for soldiers. Every young wizard undergoes brainwashing.”
He paused, then added: “And it runs on the principle of survival of the fittest. If you’re weak… if a classmate kills you… no one will care. No one will investigate.”
The cloaked figure looked at Kariel with pity.
“You have to understand… a child like you, with no magical background… when you’re thrown into a school full of wizards born into magical families—people who’ve been learning magic since they were toddlers… you have no chance.”
He lowered his voice. “Children like you? They’re called ‘Mudbloods.’ Filthy. Worthless. Something to be stepped on.”
“Mudbloods are bullied mercilessly. Most don’t even survive to graduation. Less than one in ten make it through.”
Mrs. Johnson clutched her son tightly. “Then… what do we do? We’re not sending him! We won’t let him go!”
The cloaked figure shook his head. “You can’t refuse. Hogwarts won’t let a single gifted child slip through their fingers—no matter the blood. If you say no, they’ll take Kariel by force. And then… they’ll erase your memories. Complete obliviation. You’ll forget he ever existed.”
Panic overwhelmed Landon. He didn’t stop to question the absurdity. He grabbed at the only lifeline he could see.
“You’re a wizard too, aren’t you? You must have a way to save us! You wouldn’t be here otherwise!”
“Of course,” the cloaked figure said, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips. “I’m here to help. That’s exactly why I came.”
“Remember this—only another magic school can challenge Hogwarts. That’s the only thing that scares them.”
“Reply to the letter. Tell them you’re moving to America. That Kariel will attend Ilvermorny School of Magic. Hogwarts will back down. They won’t risk a war with Ilvermorny over a single Mudblood.”
“…So that’s it?” Mrs. Johnson asked, trembling. “Just… move?”
“Not just that,” the figure said. “You must move—immediately. If you’re still in Britain when the term starts, they’ll know. And then… there’s no hope.”
Landon hesitated. “So… Kariel really has to go to Ilvermorny?”
“No,” the figure said. “Ilvermorny is no different. You must live in hiding. Stay off the radar. Kariel must conceal his gift. He must live as an ordinary person. That’s the only safe way.”
“I don’t want to hide!” Kariel shouted, fists clenched. “I have magic in me! Why should I pretend to be nothing? If I can’t go to a magic school… can’t I learn from you?”
“Kariel!” Landon snapped, trying to stop him.
But the cloaked figure only smiled. “You can. Why not? I was once just like you. Only a kind mentor saw me. That’s how I became what I am.”
He leaned forward. “But this path… it’s not easy. You’ll be at war with every major magic school. If you join us… your future will be filled with enemies. Are you ready?”
No boy could resist such a challenge—especially not the promise of being truly different.
Kariel couldn’t.
“The moment we landed in America, the cloaked figure appeared again. He came with an old witch. They took Kariel away.”
Landon covered his face, voice breaking. “After that… he never came back. Not a single letter. Not a word. I started to think we’d been tricked. But there was nothing I could do.”
“We searched everywhere—Hogwarts, Ilvermorny, every magic school we could find. No one could tell us anything. No answers. Then… Annie forgot.”
He looked up, eyes wide with horror.
“The Forgetting Charm… it’s real. She forgot magic school. She forgot we even had a son.”
(End of Chapter)
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