Shafiq Manor

As old Charlie had said, the car stopped after about fifteen minutes. But with the vehicle making frequent jumps through space, Avada had no idea where they were or how far they were from London. Judging by the Knight Bus's speed, though, he was probably somewhere in the north-central part of the United Kingdom by now.

They were stopped beside a cottage in the middle of a vast grassland. Looking out the window, Avada saw a broad expanse of smooth, emerald-green land. Far in the distance, it rose and fell like waves before meeting the clear blue sky. A few thick white clouds drifted overhead, hanging low enough for every detail in their patterns to be seen, as if he could reach out and touch them.

The little cottage, with its white walls and gray roof, stood alone in the beautiful grassland. A narrow path led from it to a distant road. Beside the cottage was a paved area, where their car was parked.

Old Charlie got out first and opened the door, inviting Avada and Baron out. As the door swung open, Avada felt a damp breeze brush his face, carrying the pleasant scent of fresh grass.

"This place is beautiful," he exclaimed sincerely.

"Of course it is."

Baron smiled. "It's beautiful, peaceful, and far from other people. To be honest, we've barely had to use the Muggle-Repelling Charm here. We can ride our brooms across the grassland, camp out, walk the Crups..."

"Master, shall we go in?"

Old Charlie had already taken Avada's luggage from the trunk. Then, under Avada's curious gaze, his appearance began to change. His hair vanished, his ears stretched, his eyes grew larger, and his skin gradually turned grayish-brown. The short old man became an even shorter elderly House-elf.

He gently smoothed his suit with one hand, and it promptly transformed into what looked like a bedsheet, which wrapped around him perfectly and somehow looked quite proper.

Then, carrying the luggage in one hand, he took out a key with the other and unlocked the cottage's door. He went inside.

Avada immediately recognized the strange spatial enchantment concealed within the cottage, and knew that a Pure-blood family's home could hardly be so ordinary. Without a word, he followed Charlie and Baron inside. The cottage was even smaller than the Burrow in the movies.

The furnishings were spotless, but the place was far too bare to look lived in. Apart from a table and a few chairs, there was nothing else.

"I'm Charlie."

Standing in the middle of the room, the old elf spoke as if addressing someone unseen. "I've returned with Master Baron and his guest."

He walked straight to the far end of the room, where another door stood shut. After drawing several symbols on it with his finger, he turned to Avada with a smile. "Welcome to Shafiq Manor, Mr. K."

Then he gently turned the handle and pushed open the back door. The sight beyond left Avada dumbstruck:

Behind the cottage stretched another vast grassland. On the stone paving closest to the house sat a car—the very one Avada had just ridden in. Beyond it, a broad flagstone path led straight into a magnificent, sprawling manor unlike anything Avada had ever seen, in either of his lives.

At the end of the path stood a magical fountain. The spray formed a mist that shimmered with tiny points of starlight instead of a rainbow. Fine stone statues surrounded it, along with rows of neatly planted trees.

Beyond the fountain stood a courtyard. It wasn't huge compared with the manor as a whole, but its exquisite decorations set it apart from the grounds outside: flowers, gazebos, outdoor tables and chairs, and a pond filled with all sorts of strange fish... The elegant marble villa at the center of the courtyard was, naturally, the Shafiq family home.

"Wow, this is really..."

Avada couldn't help murmuring in amazement. Fortunately, he had already seen Hogwarts Castle, so he managed not to make a complete spectacle of himself.

"All right, let's go."

Baron watched Avada's reaction with interest for a moment, then led him to the front of the mansion. He knocked three times and took a couple of steps back.

Click.

A soft sound came from behind the door, and the two panels slowly slid outward. Beyond them lay a corridor with a deep red carpet and several oil paintings on the walls. Baron led Avada down the hall—the carpet seemed to clean the soles of their shoes, so there was no need to change footwear—and into the grand reception room. Two people were sitting there, apparently in conversation. At the sound of footsteps, they turned and looked at the newcomers with smiles.

"Baron, you're back?"

A rather burly middle-aged man spoke first. Then he looked at Avada beside him, got to his feet, and walked over. "You must be K. It's good to meet you. Baron's mentioned you often over the past few days."

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Shafiq." When Mr. Shafiq held out his hand, Avada shook it, then dipped his head to the lady beside him.

"I'm Johnston Shafiq, and this is my wife, Joan." Mr. Shafiq introduced them, then studied Avada curiously. "If you don't mind my asking, what's your full name?"

"Whenever Baron talks about you, he only calls you K. When I ask for your full name, he won't tell me. He says Headmaster Dumbledore told you to keep it secret?"

"Ahem..."

Avada hastily tried to think of what to say, afraid that the invisible House-elf beside him might leap out and knock him to the floor the moment he revealed his name.

"...The incantation for the Killing Curse."

"What?"

"My name is the incantation for the Killing Curse. 'K' is taken from the second word of the incantation."

"..."

The Shafiq couple exchanged bewildered looks, then turned to Baron for an explanation. When he nodded, they looked even more confused.

"The incantation for the Killing Curse?" Mr. Shafiq asked tentatively. "You mean Avada... that one?"

"Yes."

"Your first name is A...va...da, and your surname is Kedavra?"

"That's right."

"W-where did you get a name like that?"

"From the Department of Mysteries..."

So Avada had to recount the Department of Mysteries' ridiculous antics all over again. By the time he finished, Avada was holding his forehead, Baron was desperately suppressing his laughter, and the Shafiq couple could only stare at each other in speechless confusion.

When they'd first heard that Dumbledore had ordered Avada to keep his real name secret, they'd assumed he might be the descendant of a foreign Pure-blood family or the child of some important person with a sensitive identity, and that his supposed Muggle-born status was just a cover. Given Dumbledore's position, they'd even wondered if this "K" might have the surname Grindelwald.

In the end, the truth seemed both less extraordinary than they'd imagined and somehow even more shocking...

"Oh, right. Since that's your name... does that mean you'll meet Harry Potter as soon as term starts?"

Mr. Shafiq suddenly made a connection, and his expression as he looked at Avada grew increasingly strange.

Avada: ...

Is this joke never going to die?!