Weiznan Berens

In Diagon Alley, Hobert, who usually never stood on ceremony, was standing ramrod straight as he spoke to a witch in thick emerald-green robes and a pointed Wizard hat.

"Merry Christmas, Professor McGonagall." Hobert forced a smile. If he'd known he would run into her, he would never have come.

Will watched Hobert act like a mouse facing a cat and wondered what on earth he had been through at school.

"Hobert Howard?" Professor McGonagall looked Hobert up and down, then glanced at Will. She took Will by the shoulder and pulled him behind her.

"Why have you brought Will here?"

Professor McGonagall looked as though she had caught some delinquent trying to charm a child in her care. Her eyes were full of suspicion.

"Well, I'm actually Will's uncle. His real uncle."

"Will's uncle?" Professor McGonagall frowned, her gaze growing sharper. "I seem to recall that Will's mother died and he had only one parent. And you, Hobert, didn't you come from a Muggle aristocratic family?"

"Professor, it's like this..." Hobert began, but one look from Professor McGonagall silenced him.

Professor McGonagall was no fool. She recalled what Professor Flitwick had told her about Will's background and considered Hobert's family circumstances. It did not take her long to reach a conclusion. Another family drama, she sighed inwardly. She had stopped Hobert because she did not want Will hurt by another reminder of his origins.

"Will is a good child. I hope you'll set him a good example as his uncle."

Hobert nodded like a pecking chicken. How could he not be afraid? Professor McGonagall had been the one to bring him into the Wizarding World, and once he entered Gryffindor, the stern professor had been his Head of House.

That was why, when he wrote to a professor, he had written straight to Professor Flitwick. Writing to Professor McGonagall had never crossed his mind.

(Professor McGonagall resigned from the Ministry of Magic in 1956 to teach at Hogwarts. By 1970, when Hobert was a student, she was already Head of House. Professor Flitwick joined Hogwarts in 1970.)

As they spoke, a girl suddenly came over and called out loudly to Professor McGonagall and Will.

"Professor McGonagall! Will! What are you doing here?"

Will knew who it was as soon as he heard her voice.

Professor McGonagall greeted the girl. "Miss Lestrange."

When she saw the old man behind the girl, Professor McGonagall smiled and greeted him too. "Mr. Lestrange."

"Please, call me Roy, Professor McGonagall."

Will could tell that the old man knew Professor McGonagall well. What puzzled him was that someone from the Lestrange family could be so familiar with her—and that they seemed to be on friendly terms.

"Grandpa, this is Will, the one I told you about." Sylvia came to Will's side and slipped her arm through his as she introduced him to her grandfather.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lestrange," Will said politely.

"No need to be so formal, young Will." The old man was kindly, unlike most of the old men from pure-blood families. He even looked Will up and down with something that seemed to be... approval?

"Sylvia, young Will, why don't you two go and have some fun? I need a word with Professor McGonagall." Smiling, Roy handed Sylvia a small purse. "There are a few Galleons inside. Go buy yourselves something you like."

"All right..." Sylvia knew the adults were sending her away, but she obediently headed toward the nearby Flourish and Blotts with Will.

"Professor McGonagall, I'll go pay for Will's books." Hobert seized his chance to escape. Professor McGonagall and Roy Lestrange seemed to have something to discuss, so she did not stop him.

The bookshop should have been closed on Christmas Day, but a young wizard was tending the store.

At the door, Hobert patted Will and told him to pick whatever books he wanted; Hobert would pay. Then he waggled his eyebrows at him. "Not bad, Will. You take after me."

The more he saw of Will, the more he liked him.

Will, however, suspected that Hobert's kindness might also have something to do with his Charm skill. After all, Charm LV2 came with an additional ability.

[LV2 additional ability, Star of Attraction: You draw more attention. To some extent, both others' affection and dislike toward you will increase.]

Will ignored Hobert's that's my boy look and browsed the shelves with Sylvia. As he selected books, he asked, "Your grandfather seems to know Professor McGonagall well. They're practically old friends."

He remembered the Lestrange family from the original story, and they had hardly been a pleasant bunch.

Many members of the Lestrange family had embraced Dark Magic. They were also pure-blood supremacists who despised Muggles, Muggle-borns, and blood traitors. The family had a poor reputation in the Wizarding World as a result. To preserve the purity of their bloodline, they had also practiced close-kin marriage, just like the Gaunt family.

That had produced quite a few oddities within the family. In later years, the Lestrange family had dwindled, and its best-known member was Bellatrix Lestrange—though her surname had been Black before she married Rodolphus Lestrange.

He genuinely could not remember any member of the Lestrange family who was friendly toward Muggles and so close to the Hogwarts side.

That made him curious about Sylvia's family.

Sylvia reached for a copy of The Magic of Beautification as she answered. "Oh, my grandfather has always been on good terms with the Hogwarts professors. They even fought Voldemort together. My father told me that our family helped Professor Dumbledore and the others back then, and some of our relatives hunted us down for it. One madwoman called Bellatrix even hit my grandfather with a Cruciatus Curse. Professor Dumbledore arrived just in time to save him."

Will's head spun. Was this still the world of Harry Potter?

Holding The Magic of Beautification, Sylvia suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, haven't you always wanted to know why I'm so interested in you?"

"Yes. Are you finally going to tell me?" Will took Runes Explained Further from the shelf.

"If you come to my house for Christmas, I will." Sylvia glanced at Will, then at the stack of books in his arms, and pursed her lips.

"You really want me to spend Christmas at your house?" Will pulled out a copy of A Guide to Classic Potions from Hogwarts Potions Class.

"Of course. Everyone in my family would welcome you. I told them about you as soon as I got home, and they said they'd be delighted if you came." Sylvia took a few books from his stack. "If you do come, you can sleep in my little sister's room."

"Wait. Where would your little sister sleep?"

"I don't have one. I really wanted a little sister when I was young, so I got a room ready and asked my parents to have one for me to put in it. But I still don't have a little sister."

Will's eye twitched. Was this what happened when a silly girl had too much time on her hands?

He carried his large stack of books to the clerk, still unsure how to answer Sylvia.

"I think spending Christmas at her house is a fine idea." Hobert looked over the pile of books as he offered Will his advice.

He was worried Will would be hurt. There was no chance Will could attend tonight's family banquet. Better for him to enjoy Christmas at the girl's house than sit feeling miserable in the castle.

Besides, the girl clearly liked his nephew, and old Roy was friends with Professor McGonagall. That had to be better than leaving Will at the Howard family castle.

Will weighed his options.

A quarter of an hour later.

Will shook his head to ease the dizziness. Roy Lestrange had taken him and Sylvia by Apparition.

It had been awful, like being stuffed into a tumble dryer. Pressure had squeezed him from every direction until he could barely breathe. His chest had felt bound by iron bands, and even his organs and eyeballs seemed to have been compressed.

Sylvia did not look particularly well either, but she had clearly been through it before.

"Are you all right, child?" Roy Lestrange asked with concern.

Will rubbed his temples. "I'm fine, sir."

Once Roy was sure Will was indeed all right, he relaxed. "Then, young Mr. Berens, welcome to Lestrange Manor."

The manor stood in a valley. Snow was falling today, and heavy clouds pressed down on a gray sky, but they could not hide the beauty of the old English-style estate. A small castle stood at its heart. Thin snow lay on the dark gray stone walls, while ivy dusted with snow clung to the gaps between the stones, bringing their texture into sharper relief. A vivid Christmas wreath hung on the walnut wood door, its red berries nestled among green branches. Snowflakes clung to its silver bells, and warm light from the lamps above the door cut through the gray chill.

Snow capped the garden hedges. Strings of lights glowed on wrought-iron trellises, glinting against the ice crystals of the frozen fountain. The garden also held a square with a small clock tower, and Will spotted quite a few house-elves.

Another wealthy family. Everyone around me is rich.

Roy led Will through the manor's front garden and into the castle. In the entrance hall, Will soon noticed a huge oil painting.

That was right—an oil painting, not a magical portrait.

It showed a sinking ship. A black-haired young man was carrying a baby out of a cabin.

The young man had thick black hair, a lean face, and silver-gray eyes that held a reassuring calm. The baby in his arms looked terrified and was wailing at the top of his lungs.

The sight of the painting shook Will.

The man in it looked so much like him! Or rather, Will looked so much like the young man!

"Who... who is that?" Will asked, pointing at the painting.

Roy smiled. "At the turn of the century, a wizard saved my grandfather, Corvus V. The family kept a record of it, and a few decades ago, we had this painting made."

The turn of the century meant eighty, perhaps ninety years ago. Will wondered whether the man might be one of Dorothy Berens's ancestors.

It was possible.

Wait. Wasn't Corvus V Leta Lestrange's half brother? Corvus died on a ship bound for America! This man saved him!?

Will felt that something was wrong.

The next moment, Roy Lestrange's words sent an even greater shock through Will.

"That Wizard helped the Lestrange family many times. He kept the Lestrange family alive when it stood on the brink of ruin. We're all deeply grateful to him, but we've never been able to find him—or any of his descendants."

"This Wizard was named Weiznan Berens."

Weiznan was the false name Will had used in Knockturn Alley.

What!?