Chapter 23 - 23. I Want To Learn Magic
This was getting out of hand and Magnus knew it. So, he tried to defuse the situation.
"DAD... stop... I know him. He's the headmaster of a big school." Magnus shouted.
"He is?" Adam was not so sure about that.
Magnus then showed his dad the letter. "Look, he brought this letter."
Adam stared at Dumbledore for a few seconds and finally put his gun down. He walked forward and asked, "Which school are you from?"
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore replied.
Adam again upholstered his gun again, "What are you smoking?"
Magnus could only facepalm himself. This was nothing like how he expected things to go.
Soon, another car stopped and Grace came out. She was surprised to see Adam, Magnus and the strange old man standing outside.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Mummy, this is Headmaster Dumbledore. From Hogwarts school. Let's talk to him inside." Magnus tried to defuse the situation with the help of Grace.
"Really? Then why are you waiting outside? Let's get in." She said and allows everyone to enter.
Dumbledore was taken to the living room by Magnus and told to take a seat. Soon, Adam and Grace also came after changing their uniforms to normal clothes.
They took a seat on the bigger couch with Magnus at the centre of them.
"So, how can we help you, Mr Dumbledore?" Grace asked.
Dumbledore gave them the letter. But the way he did it was what shocked them. The letter was sitting on the middle of the coffee table, but then it flew towards Grace and fell on her lap.
The two were shocked beyond belief. But they still opened the letter to see what this was all about. They thought maybe this man ran some kind of a magic trick school. Or maybe he works at the circus.
Grace read it loudly, "Dear Mr Grant, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry..."
"What? But we never signed up for this and our son is not going to become an escape artist or anything," she sternly said.
Dumbledore spoke, "Mrs Grant, the school is real, the magic is real. Tell me, have you ever seen some things happening around or by Magnus that you couldn't explain? Something so strange that you thought it was a hallucination or you were sleepy?"
This made the two parents fall silent.
Grace spoke first, "Yes, when he was small, I would put him on the table to change his diaper. But whenever I left him there to get something I would always find him already following me.
"It was very strange as the table was half a metre high."
Adam also spoke, "This one time when we were eating together. Magnus' arm mistakenly touched the glass and it fell. But just a centimetre before touching the floor, the glass hovered midair where Magnus caught it quickly. I was sure I saw it stop mid-air."
"Yes, and that one time, he tried to help me cut vegetables. He clearly cut his finger with the knife but when I checked there was no wound. However, there was still a drop of blood that was out on the vegetables." Grace added. Such weird things had happened many times to them.
"And that one time when he was 5, he jumped out of the moving car when I was parking. He fell face first but to my shock, in mid-air, he turned back on his feet. I just thought it was normal body movement but it was too weird to digest." Adam said.
But suddenly he felt Grace staring daggers at him, "Dear, why was I never informed about this?"
Adam felt a shiver run down his spine. "Oh... it... it wasn't anything major, Grace."
Dumbledore nodded. "That is what we call accidental magic."
He continued, "Your son is a Wizard, Mr and Mrs Grant. We have a school specialised for kids with magic in them. It is one of the oldest schools in the world, established in 990 A.D. The whole Magical community has stayed hidden from normal humans for a reason."
"Witch hunts?" Grace immediately asked.
Dumbledore nodded, feeling very appreciative that at least these muggles were smart, "Yes, because of the increased witch hunts and most importantly, the large scale Salem Witch Trials of in Massachusetts Colony of North America and Würzburg witch trial of Germany. The wizards and witches went to the then British monarch William and Mary but failed to get the protection under the existing non-magical human laws.
"So, in 1689. The International Statute of Secrecy Law was instated. The law was laid down by the International Confederation of Wizards to safeguard the wizarding community from Muggles, a term for non-magical people, and hide its presence from the world at large. Each country then set up a ministry-level level department to regulate and keep the magical community a secret."
This was the knowledge most Hogwarts faculty who go to muggle houses tell. They needed to make the muggle parents understand why they had not heard about this all this time.
"Do the country's leaders know about this?" Adam asked.
"Yes, but it is a tightly closed secret. Only the Prime Minister and the Queen know. Each time a new Prime Minister comes, the Minister for Magic gives them a visit." Dumbledore explained.
"Hmm, in that case, I guess you are pretty legitimate. But, we would like to see where you want to take our son first." Grace demanded.
Dumbledore scratched his beard. That was the toughest moment. "Hogwarts is a very guarded place where people who don't have magic will not feel good. Parents do come there under special cases but never so casually. However, you can still accompany your child to Diagon Alley, the wizard market where all students buy their supplies. You can confirm the existence of the magical world there."
"So you want to take our son away to an unknown place and expect us to be calm about it? Are you testing our limits or something?" Adam questioned angrily. He was very protective of his son and wife at times.
Magnus saw that things were starting to get bad. He did want to go to Hogwarts, though just now he remembered that he'd be going away from his parents too.
"Dad, why not visit this Diagon alley before making up your mind? I also want to learn about these amazing abilities I have. Also, Mr Dumbledore, is there any drawback if a child does not explore his magical abilities and tries to repress them?" He inquired, of course, he knew about it. He had read that in the books.
Old Dumbledore's eyes light up as he heard that. This was a pretty good argument. He also just realised that he sucked big time in conducting these meetings. That was why he never went on them, but this time, curiosity killed the cat and he came.
"Yes, there is. If a young witch or wizard tries to repress their magic then they turn into an obscurus. It is created when the child in question consciously attempts to repress their magical abilities or were forced to do so through physical or psychological abuse. This energy can manifest itself as a separate entity that can erupt in violent, destructive fury. Most Obscurus don't survive to reach adulthood." Dumbledore explained with a grim face. He had his fair share of dealings with them in his young days.
Both Adam and Grace looked at their son in worry.
Seeing them like this, Magnus spoke, "Also, I'm sure Mister Dumbledore can assure us that I will be safe in Hogwarts. Or else, why would anybody go to that school?"
~Is he trying to manipulate me?~ Dumbledore thought secretly and it did not leave a pleasant taste behind.
"Yes, I am the most senior Wizard in the British Wizarding community and also world-renowned for my prowess. You can rest easy, all children of Hogwarts are under my protection and if anyone dares to hurt them then they will have to face me first." He assured them, though he knew no matter how much he promises, he can't always save all kids and sometimes, he may also need to let some things happen.
Grace and Adam nodded, "Thank you, Mr Dumbledore. We will go to this alley you talked about and see it for ourselves."
Dumbledore was delighted. He wanted to get away from this meeting as soon as possible now. It was more tiring for him than a full Wizengamot meeting.
"I'm sure you will like that place. I shall send another faculty member from Hogwarts this Sunday because can not enter the Diagon Alley without magic. Now, I must take my leave." He got up.
Adam saw him out of the house and returned to see Magnus being hugged by Grace. This was a huge moment for their family, something so out of the ordinary had happened to them.
But, for a long time now, they had a feeling that their son was not ordinary. Call it a parent's hunch or some otherworldly connection with their child, they just knew that the future had some surprises for them. But not in their wildest dreams had they thought that magic was real.
"Are you sure you want to go there, sweetie?" Grace asked.
While still in a tight hug, he nodded. "Yes, mummy. I want to learn magic."
"Okay... Okay..." She muttered and looked at her husband's face.
[A/N: I always wondered how a real meeting between muggle parents and Hogwarts faculty goes. I don't think parents would so easily let their child be taken away at just 11 years of age.]
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