A letter

Dear son,

How have you been?

I have learned that you are attending Hogwarts, and I am deeply gratified to hear that you are doing well in your studies. I am very sorry about your mother's passing. Please forgive me for having spent these past few years in Egypt and failing to keep up with you and Dorothy.

I know that my long absence as your "father" is difficult for you to come to terms with. Perhaps you resent me, or even refuse to acknowledge the blood ties between us, but some facts cannot be erased by time.

I returned to England last month. While sorting through my old belongings, I came across several letters Dorothy had sent over the past few years. They contained occasional accounts of you growing up, and I could feel her love for you in them.

I have missed far too much of the time we should have shared as father and son. Now that Christmas is approaching, preparations for the holiday have begun at the Howard family estate. Warm fires will burn in the hearths, the long table will be laden with traditional puddings and roast meats, and the family will gather together.

I hope you will come back to the place where you should belong and experience a true family holiday.

Will, you must understand that the Howard family is an ancient aristocratic family with a strict hierarchy. Regardless of whether the family accepts your mother, Howard blood runs through your veins. That is a fact that cannot be changed.

In asking you to come home for Christmas, I hope not only to make up for past regrets, but also to help you establish ties with the family.

I know you may hesitate, or even refuse. But I must remind you that the family's tolerance has its limits.

If you insist on refusing to return and disregard these blood ties, you may find it far harder to seek the family's help in the future. Though your studies at Hogwarts are important, in the long run, the family's support is the foundation on which you must build your future.

I do not wish to see you lose everything that should be yours because of a moment of stubbornness.

On Christmas Eve, I will send someone to your residence to collect you. I hope to see you at the estate. Do not disappoint me, or your mother's spirit in heaven.

Your biological father, Edward William Fitzalan Howard

Sylvia keenly noticed a cloud settle over Will's face.

After reading the letter, Will gave a cold sneer. This "father" of his really did see him as an ordinary child. Throughout the letter, both openly and implicitly, he urged Will to become part of the Howard family.

He had assumed his biological father was a Muggle too, and he had not cared, as long as the man continued providing pounds as before. He had never expected him to be able to send a letter to Hogwarts. That meant either he was a wizard, or there were wizards in the Howard family. There certainly could not be many, though, since the Howard family was not a prominent name in the wizarding world.

Still, the line about having "heard that you are doing well in your studies" suggested they had some connection to Hogwarts.

Because of his background, Will knew quite a lot about Britain's "illegitimate child culture." British aristocrats had numerous illegitimate children, and most of those without any particular talents became personal servants to the nobility, such as coachmen or butlers.

In modern times, those positions had simply become chauffeurs, butlers, estate managers, and the like.

As for talented illegitimate children, British aristocrats cultivated them, sending them into different fields according to their particular gifts. Military prodigies would be sent to officer academies—during the Middle Ages, they often simply bought them posts—while business prodigies would be trained to trade, establish companies, and expand the family's commercial interests.

The aristocrats used blood ties as a rope, binding their illegitimate children to the same boat.

Will, however, belonged to the most unusual category: he was a wizard.

Will knew that the wizarding world had always been entangled with the Muggle world, especially with the aristocracy and the upper classes. Throughout England's history, many wizards had served the monarch or government directly. To the country's leaders, the extraordinary powers of wizards offered greater protection for their safety and certain conveniences in their daily lives.

For example, an aristocrat who broke a leg could drink a potion and be up and about the next day. Under those circumstances, they naturally hoped to have wizards in their service. Thus, throughout history, the divide between wizards and Muggles had existed only among the lower and middle classes. Those at the top had always maintained an ambiguous attitude.

Voldemort's reign of terror had led even more wizards to turn directly to the British government during that period, hiding in the Muggle world under its protection.

The Howard family had been a leading ducal family since the fifteenth century, a towering presence in England and one of the most powerful families beneath the royal family. Will was not surprised that they had connections to the wizarding world.

What did surprise him was that his biological mother, Dorothy, had actually borne an illegitimate child like him with the current duke's eldest son. Edward had been unmarried, after all. Dorothy had come ever so close to marrying into the Howard family.

Edward's letter now urging him to join the family was probably also based on the idea that, as a child, he could be raised into someone they could trust more readily.

Will had no objection to relying on such a powerful family while he was weak, but he did not like being threatened.

"If you insist on refusing to return and disregard these blood ties, you may find it far harder to seek the family's help in the future. Though your studies at Hogwarts are important, in the long run, the family's support is the foundation on which you must build your future."

The fact that Edward had written such an overt threat also showed how little he thought of Will.

"Tap, tap, tap..." Will drummed his fingers on the dining table, considering whether to sever all ties with the Howard family or gain some benefits from them.

Only when Sylvia reminded him that they were going to be late for class did he snap out of his thoughts.

The arrival of this letter had certainly disrupted Will's plans. He had originally intended to raise his level in Transfiguration or charms a little further over Christmas, but now he had to consider his plans for the future.

Edward had made himself very clear: if Will did not return, obtaining help from the Howard family in the future would be difficult. Not that he needed much from them; it was just a matter of Galleons.

Will thought those old London, Union Jack-waving bloodsuckers really would cut off his funding. That would have some impact on his plans, since he needed money to buy ingredients for his potions practice as well as cover his everyday expenses.

The reason he could currently grind experience without distractions was that he still had a sizable sum of Galleons.

As for wrangling with them, well, that would probably waste a few days, but there should not be any major problems afterward. Before he graduated from Hogwarts, the Howard family probably would not ask him to do anything troublesome.

More importantly, he would not need very long. Before Harry Potter and Voldemort's final showdown, he would grow into a stat monster—a stat monster built up by the system. By then, the Howard family would no longer be able to do anything to him, which amounted to getting a few years of support for free.

Will decided to go back for Christmas...