Chapter 377: Memory
"So, the Leader doesn’t just want Wade Gray—she wants him to willingly join us?" Abigail summarized.
"That’s correct," Majer Byerd nodded. "We can’t use the mind-control techniques on those Little Ones on him—You know, confusion spells or memory charms would dull his mind. His brain is too valuable. We can’t afford the risk."
Abigail nodded in agreement. "So you sent that child instead."
" Ideally, we’d locate Wade Gray’s parents. But unfortunately, their whereabouts are unknown. The teammates assigned to this mission have also gone missing."
Majer Byerd sighed. "Dumbledore’s protection around this student is unprecedented. I doubt the Gray family is hiding in a house enchanted with Priori Incantatem. It’s too risky."
"So the Leader hopes you and Kariel, as his professor and friends, can help him recognize our ideals—make him feel a sense of belonging to the organization."
"Of course, we’ve also arranged a few attractive women. Boys like him are easily swept off their feet by love. But they can’t yet enter the school. For now, it falls to the two of you."
"This is a long-term mission. There’s no rush. Even if it takes ten years, it’ll be worth it. But you can start guiding him toward an interest in the Philosopher’s Stone right away."
Majer Byerd gave detailed instructions, even suggesting Abigail find a way to subtly plant the idea that the organization could financially support Wade’s experiments.
The Philosopher’s Stone, whether successful or not, required incredibly expensive alchemical materials—enough to bankrupt an ordinary middle-class family.
To Majer Byerd, the biggest obstacle to an alchemist’s curiosity about the Stone was simply money.
Abigail didn’t argue. After agreeing, she exchanged recent intelligence with Majer Byerd, then stood to leave.
"I must return—no professor should miss the Halloween Feast," Abigail said, pulling her cloak around her and drawing the hood low.
"By the way," she asked as she pulled open the door, "what’s Kariel’s real name?"
"Just Kariel," Mrs. Johnson replied. "Kariel Johnson."
"...I see," Abigail murmured, stepping out into the night.
The sky had darkened. Shops along the street glowed with candlelight. Late-night students hurried toward the carriages, laughing and joking as they ran. Hundreds flashed past Abigail like silhouettes of time.
Only she walked slowly, steadily—neither hurried nor anxious.
Because now, her mind was filled with a memory from the past.
It was shortly after she’d joined the United Investigation Group. While everyone else was occupied with their own tasks, Abigail had secretly tracked down Landon Johnson, who was staying at a Muggle hotel.
It was her first mission in this country—cleaning up after American colleagues.
Those careless fools had missed their window. They’d been drinking, and the timing was thrown off. When they finally found the man, they mistakenly took the maintenance worker fixing a telephone in the room for Landon Johnson. Two forgetting spells later, they reported the mission complete and vanished to enjoy themselves.
Mrs. Johnson forgot she had a son. But Mr. Johnson didn’t.
When the organization realized the mistake, Landon Johnson had already fled back to Britain.
—The organization’s presence in Britain was the weakest of all European nations. Only through backdoor connections in Muggle society did they eventually trace Landon Johnson’s whereabouts. But by then, he was gone.
At that time, the incident had already caught Hogwarts’ attention. Mr. Johnson had, in fact, been quietly relocated by Dumbledore.
Later, Abigail—originally operating in another region—was transferred to the Investigation Group.
She remembered that man.
Landon Johnson. A skeletal figure, hair nearly gone, kneeling on the floor like an alien creature. He offered no resistance when cornered. When the wand was pressed to his chest, he didn’t panic or flinch.
Tears streamed down his face as he whispered, "I know you’re with them… Kill me if you must. I can’t escape. I can’t fight. But… please… on the verge of death… tell me—"
"Is Kariel… my child… still alive?"
"Kariel?" Abigail replied, indifferent. "Who’s that? I’ve never heard of him."
She erased all traces of her presence and left without a second glance.
In this island nation, erasing evidence was far easier than in America.
That moment had become just a small footnote in her life. She quickly forgot it—what with the constant challenge of navigating relationships with wizards from every corner of the world.
But now, it all came rushing back.
The flustered, twisted face. The desperate voice of a father’s final plea.
"Kariel… my child… is he still alive?"
Abigail sat at the staff table and glanced toward the Gryffindor long table.
A flurry of bats fluttered overhead. Orange ribbons spewed golden flames. Pumpkin lanterns illuminated the Great Hall brighter than ever.
Kariel was easy to spot.
Among the ravenous wolves of students, one Gryffindor sat slowly chewing a steak that looked barely cooked. His expression carried a quiet boredom, a weary patience.
To be honest, such a boy stood out—especially among the girls who kept glancing his way, sending him secret smiles. But Kariel seemed oblivious. He didn’t react.
"—Yes," Abigail thought, answering silently. Then she gave a self-deprecating laugh.
But as she smiled, the expression froze.
Kariel was an orphan raised by the organization. Because of his stubbornness and extraordinary willpower, they’d had to fabricate a false memory of parents still alive—only then could they keep him obedient.
But what about her?
Abigail thought of her own childhood—parents dead, long gone. She no longer knew what was real, what was illusion.
Yet the thought lingered only a moment before another one slowly pressed it down.
False is false.
Majer Byerd was not Landon Johnson. The fake couple had obvious flaws. If Kariel lived with them day in and day out, he would’ve noticed.
But Abigail was different.
Her memories of them were seamless, logical, consistent. No contradiction, no dissonance.
She exhaled—whether in regret or relief, she couldn’t say.
The delicious meal in front of her suddenly lost all appeal.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
