Knock! Knock!
"Come in," said Eleanor, sitting at a desk with many documents. "Tiara? Do you need something?"
"I came to apologize."
"For what?"
"You were right about what my absence would do to Zed."
"What brought this on?"
Tiara sighed before telling her what had happened with the Boggard's test. Eleanor stopped her work and took out her best rum in a cabinet underneath her desk.
"I'm not surprised," she said as she stood up and walked to take two crystal-clear glasses and pour the alcohol. "He's always jovial when you're here, but when you're not, he's more taciturn. I often found him staring in the window, lost and distracted, with a longing look."
Tiara swallowed her drink swiftly before placing it before her, indicating she needed a refill.
"When he was young," continued Eleanor. "He would run to the door at the slightest sound. I still remember the disappointed looks on his face when he realized it wasn't you. And when it was you, you could see his face lit up brighter than the streets during Christmas."
"I…never noticed," sighed Tiara. "Am I a bad mother?"
"Of course not," replied Eleanor rapidly, and she was telling the truth. She knew Tiara was an excellent mother, especially in educating her child; she had never met someone who took so much care and effort in their child's learning and development.
"You don't need to sugarcoat the truth."
"I'm not," replied Eleanor, sipping her drink; it was refreshing. "You've made a mistake, and given the situation, it was understandable." Now that she knew her brother was alive and Tiara was only trying to find him, she understood her choice more.
"What truly matters is that you learn from your experience and make real changes."
"I guess you have a point, but I can't help but blame myself," uttered Tiara. "I thought it would be easy to find him, and our family could be united again. I never thought my actions would do more harm than good."
Eleanor did not speak but listened. For the next hour, she supported the woman she considered her sister as she laid her heart. It was only when they were a little tipsy that they stopped talking.
"How is your search for that Seer?" asked Eleanor.
"Not so good," Tiara said. At this point, she is considering the nuclear option.
"Why do you seem obsessed with finding him?" Almost every night after Christian went to bed, Tiara left the house searching for that Seer, so she was curious.
"He made a prophecy about Zed."
"Prophecy? From what I remember, those things were hardly any good."
"You're right about that."
"He didn't prophecy his death, did he?" asked Eleanor in a worried tone.
"No, but he might have well had."
"What do you mean?"
"I can't say much, but you only need to know we should be concerned."
"Is that why you've been so harsh on him in your so-called training?" asked Eleanor.
"That's partly it. And what's with the tone?"
"All I'm saying is he's a child, and you might be pushing him too far."
Tiara sighed before putting her glass on the desk. "I don't know what the future holds for him except that it won't be easy. So, I must do whatever I can to prepare him for it." Papa Tounde's words made her know that Christian's 14th birthday was a turning point, and he must be ready beforehand.
"That's understandable," nodded Eleanor. "What's the other reason?"
"The other what?"
"You said the prophecy was partly why you pushed him so hard. What's the other?"
"His aptitude," replied Tiara without hesitation. "I have never seen anyone as naturally gifted with magic as him." Her eyes twinkled with pride and happiness. "I have no doubt he will become a wizard on par with Dumbledore — if not greater. I pushed him because I wanted to see his limit."
"Those are bold words, but I expect nothing from the Malik Family. My mother always told us we were once God's Champions—whatever that means," said Eleanor with a complex look.
"Your Malik Family? What about my family? The Jean-Baptiste family secretly assisted the Haitian Revolution; we were instrumental in creating the first black-free nation in the world."
"You're talking about a lineage that dates back to the 1800s—less than a hundred years ago. Meanwhile, ours can be traced back thousands of years."
Tiara rolled his eyes and decided not to argue with her as she was exaggerating. The Malik migrated from Africa long ago, but they've long lost most connection or knowledge of their ancestry. Even the surname [Malik] was acquired during their short stay in Southern Asia.
Eleanor smiled triumphantly. "So, did you find Christian's limit?"
"Yes, but only because we've only been learning for over a month, and he's young. As for his potential? It's truly not something I can fathom."
"Talent is a good thing," said Eleanor before sighing deeply. "But it's also dangerous, especially if You-Know-Who eventually returns, as some people believe he will."
Tiara grunted softly. "You know, I didn't even think of him." She regretted her isolation during the war, especially after knowing how many people died. As a result, she was not as influenced by the war, which often led to her ignoring Voldemort's influence.
"If he does return, Christian's talent is the kind that he would want to recruit, and if he cannot, he will remove him at all costs." Her body trembled in fright at this terrible thought.
"No need to scare yourself. If worse comes to shove, we will hide again."
"You know Zed is more like me than his dad. Do you think he will agree to hide while people he knows participate in this fight?"
Eleanor could not answer. "In that case, we can only hope his return is a rumor or Christian has already realized his potential by the time he does."
"You're right," replied Tiara before exhaling deeply. "Times like this, I wish I had powers like Dumbledore. If I had this kind of strength, I would like to see who dared touch my family."
Eleanor could only shake her head; everyone wished they were the greatest white wizard of the century.
Tiara suddenly looked at the clock. "It's late, and I've bothered you for too long already."
"Any time," replied Eleanor. Tiara left with a slight buzz, but Eleanor had a much higher alcohol threshold, so she resumed her work as if she were perfectly fine.
…
Christian finished tonight's meditation. After today's experience with the Boggard, he needed a peaceful moment to process his thoughts. As such, he extended the time spent in [Mindfulness Meditation].
Then, as always, he entered the Memory Space to view one of Jim's memories. Today's experience was different as it was mostly about his study of biology, specifically a frog's anatomy. It seemed he was studying for some kind of test, as Christian could sense his anxiety.
As Christian looked at the anatomical diagram of the frog with all its labeled organs, tissues, and systems, a thought appeared in his mind. Without hesitation, he woke up and walked to a lamp desk in his room to take out his mother's diary and write:
[Entry 1: Any correlation between Transfiguration and Anatomy?]
[Intent is a very important aspect of magic, but is rarely used—at least not in many of the spells I've learned. In Charms, I can only think of two examples off the top of my head: The Ridikilus Charm requires imagination to change the Boggard into something funny, and the Shielding Charm's secret, my mother told me, which requires imagining countless layers of defense when casting my charm.
[Meanwhile, Transfiguration is a magic that relies heavily on [Intent], especially the need to use imagination for the process. The spell will only work correctly with a clear and precise image of the object the caster wishes to transform. So, what will happen if I imagine, let's say, a creature's anatomy?
[If [Intent] operates on precision and detail, what could be more detailed than the anatomical structure of the creature I wish to transform? Shouldn't the spell improve in some ways if I could know the creature well enough down to its cellular structure? Even if the spell does not improve, there should be some changes, right?
[This method does not need to be applied only to Transfiguration. I could try a similar tactic for Charms. For example, if I imagine a fiery sea when casting the Incendio Charm, would that increase the potency? What about Aguamenti? Would picturing the vast ocean improve the spell's ability to summon water? Or maybe thinking about the chemical formula for water (H2O) would be better? All these are worth exploring.]
After writing down all his thoughts, Christian was a little excited. He wanted to verify these conjectures immediately, so he left his room to search for his mom. After walking downstairs, he heard a slight commotion in Aunt Eleanor's study and approached sneakily.
Then, he heard things he probably should not have. He heard about his mother's feelings, his aunt's reassurance, and many other things. He knew it was wrong to listen to this conversation, but could not help it. Seeing his mother or Aunt Eleanor so vulnerable was rare, as they tended to hide things from him. Now, he knew how they felt without the mask of the charade called adulthood.
'I have a prophecy about me?... And it seems not to be a good thing,' thought Christian. He then saw his mother's high view and expectation of him and felt proud and worried. Then, there is talk about this person whose name they did not dare say.
Once they began to discuss their family heritage, Christian decided to leave as this was not the first time they had such a strange and pointless argument.
He lay on his bed, thinking about what he learned.
'I wonder what kind of prophecy has her worried so much. Should I be worried? I probably should. And who is that You-Know-Who? He sounds scary if even Mom is unwilling to say his name.'
He wanted to talk to someone but could not since revealing the source of his information would be embarrassing. Ultimately, he turned in his bed for hours before falling asleep.