THE HIDDEN LOVES AND LIES

CHAPTER -3 THE ROAD TO MAGIC

CHAPTER -3
THE ROAD TO MAGIC

   I was used to this silence. I was in this silence almost 80% in my day, life, even more than it. The only difference was that, today, I knew, from somewhere inside me, that this silence will break free for good. And soon, I will finally be free, from what, I don't know, or don't want to know. But, one thing I know for sure, and that was, I was being selfish. And I am not letting this selfishness go.

   With every beating second of time, my heart was growing heavier. But just then, Mrs. Rathore broke the silence after sipping some tea from her cup and said, " I am sure that you already know what your daughter is, a witch," she looked at me while sipping her tea and I thought I saw a smile blooming behind the cup to her mouth, and the next thing she said confirmed it, "and an excellent one. And that, you already got letters from our community's schools, I guess." I am really thankful to her that she didn't use "magic" and instead used "our community" as my mother would have become more scared than she was now. Mrs. Rathore continued, " I know you all must be thinking about various types of assumptions that normal people, and especially our own people would like to have. And it will take only a matter of time until they will implement those assumptions on others, which would result in something very dreadful." My mother gasped, and she clutched my hand tight and took it on her lap. Mrs. Rathore noticed it, and so she spoke now in a serious but polite tone, "And I assure myself that you would not like that, nor will anyone else from the magical world. It would be a shame and a great loss to lose our people, losing someone with magic in her veins. And trust me Mr. and Mrs. Gohil, I have seen worse situations whose families are too blind to see and too dumb to understand or too prideful to swallow the truth which is not at all a shame, losing everything they have. Just about 2 years ago a family burned their own son and daughter, twins, just because they thought they were devil born, which resulted in their death sentence as well. One more case where the family buried their son alive in their backyard because they had to save their pride, and…" she stopped there. Her face became somewhat dull. "And so, we would like you to understand that having magic is not evil." Mr. Chopda, the other man who had come with her, spoke. Unlike Mrs. Rathore, he seemed more determined for this meeting.

"Not all the wizards and witches are evil just like not all the normal people are good, Mr. Gohil." Mrs. Rathore said in her usual tone one more time.
"I understand. But how could I trust that this school really exists, and that you are not going to sell my daughter? How could I trust that this is not a trap to take children and force them to do dirty work for you?" My father said, His face is straight, but ….
"Of course we understand Mr. Gohil, about your concerns for your daughter, but I assure you with my life, that Hogwarts will teach your daughter to control her magic, and use it for good. And here is a little proof for you so you can trust that magic is real." Mrs. Rathore took something like a wooden stick from the wrist opening of her blouse and flicked it in the air. And the result was so fast to deduct it's beginning. Every curtain in our living room changed its color from dark blue to pink, and the tea in our cups got hot, as well as the frame of my grandfather's picture which was broken(because my brother had kicked his ball there while he was playing) got fixed as well. But there were just a few things which I could capture in time, because after just about 30 seconds, our whole living room seemed different, more clean and airy and fresh. Like new. Everyone in the room was astonished by those 30 seconds. "So, what do you think now? "
My parents looked at each other, and before papa could speak, my mother said, "Does it mean that if my daughter is taught in that school, she would no more cause…"
"... destruction? Yes. She did it because her magic is raw, not trained yet, so when she would be higher in any of her emotions, it would release the magic. But it's not always possible to cause much shattering, she did it because she was extremely scared at that time, and all those actions at that time were there to save her." I know exactly which moment she was talking about, but I wonder, how did she know about it? And it seems like my mother thought the same, as she asked the same thing to Mrs. Rathore.
"It's because of the Trace. The Ministry of Magic uses Trace to detect anyone who is underage and uses magic. And they also know what type of magic was used at that time. It was a Finestra charm that she used, but very strong and raw, so all the glass windows shattered with noise and eruption, and because of that some ministers thought it the Bombarding spell as well, but it wasn't." After about 5 seconds, she said, "Don't worry, once she is educated in magic, it would become harmless, no one can ever know if she's a witch or not, she would master how to conceal her true self, and would also master in controlling herself as well. She is not a threat, Mrs. Gohil…"
"I know she isn't. She can never be. She is my daughter." I looked at my mother, she had tears in her eyes, it was the first time I felt like I wasn't a burden for my mother and that she loves me. But some part inside me was not fully satisfied from this thought of mine. I guess I would think about it later.
"So, where is this school actually situated in Britain?" My father asked.
"Somewhere from London." Mrs. Rathore put her cup of tea down and smiled at my parents, who were now looking more puzzled, well plus me in that. Somewhere? But where? We all were staring hard at her and as she understood all the straight faces she said, "Trust me, I don't myself know where Hogwarts is. Because, for security reasons all the magical schools are hidden, they are built at a place no one but someone with magic can go to." Before my father can ask what he wanted to, I guess Mrs. Rathore already knew the question, so when she answered, "And that doesn't mean it doesn't exist." Papa stayed silent. But Mrs. Rathore continued, " Or that your daughter is in danger. Truthfully, your daughter is in much more danger here, in your world than in ours. Our world will provide her freedom for knowing and accepting herself the way she is. Here, she would only grow worse. And I have a whole list of those incidents, that all ended badly. Some poor children ended up becoming Obscurials."
"But what if she has to fight there with white people?" This was the first time my brother spoke till the meeting started.
"Don't worry about that. The fight for independence, world war two, surely made some wizards and witches think about their own nations, but in our world, ALL WITH EITHER MAGIC OR NOT, ARE CONSIDERED TO BE OF ONE. And moreover, Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is a man who treats everyone with delicacy and respects everyone in the world. You are lucky with every other student who is coming to Hogwarts this year to be under Dumbledore's aura. He is a great man, and has done many great things!" an unknown smile bloomed on her face, the genuine one. Dumbledore must be someone great, I wanted to know more about him. Know more about what he has done so he is a great man. But before I could ask further, papa said, "So, first we go to London, then where?"

   AM I GOING?! Papa just asked about the place in detail, and asked how we would reach there!! Papa finally believed it?!! I…. I guess Mr. Chopda found that as an unbelievable thing too. Guess he thought it would go long just like me, because he just showed a big smile on his face with eyebrows reaching to the sky, turning his face excitedly to Mrs. Rathore. Mrs. Rathore, comparatively to me and Mr. Chopda seemed calm, like she knew she would persuade my father. She said in a calmer tone, "First you need to come with me to the ministry headquarters of this state, from where we would gain a TRAVELING CARD for you, Mr. Gohil and also for your whole family if you all would like to go to London just to see your daughter off, and then, for your daughter, we would need a MAGICPASS CARD, which is for someone with magic, and has to get written 'Student' on that card as well. Those cards will permit you to travel to London through the ship which is one of the ships which are just for witches and wizards, THE FLOATING SHRAKE. It will land you in London, from there, you will meet many people, with magic of course, who will guide you to THE LEAKY CAULDRON, which is a direct way to the DIAGON ALLEY. Your daughter's school supplies would be found there. From there, I don't know."

  At the end, my parents changed their looks to each other and said to our guests that they would let them know our decision. At that moment, my brother had broken a tea cup, because somehow, like me, he knew it was positive. And if it wasn't, I wasn't going to hold myself back, sit down quietly and accept a life which was never created for me. And the endings of those types of lives….. aren't happy, at least for the people like me who are forced to live in those. Mrs. Rathore, seemed satisfied, as if she knew I was going to Hogwarts for sure, she bent to me and said, "You can't only shatter those glasses dear, but if you want, you can join them too, and make it anew like the first day of its birth.'' With the end of what she said, the broken tea cup started to float in the air, and piece-by-piece, like a puzzle solving itself, it gained its original shape. And it seemed, NEW. They left.

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  Mummy, papa talked over everything that happened recently. And finally, at night, they asked me if I was going to be okay there, and I said yes, with so much happiness in my heart. It was clear from their faces that they still don't believe in everything that has happened earlier this morning, and also that they have no other choice to believe it though. Mummy was freaking out to send me such a far away, so do papa, but what other choice they have? None.

   There happened a small conversation of mummy and papa with Mrs. Rathore earlier, before she left. I don't know what they or she talked about, but that has somewhat changed my parents. They simply (not so simply, but yet) agreed. And I was happy with it, but somehow it was unbelievable, and obviously I was nervous for every little thing and every little way in which all these can  become a lie.

     It would be frightening for some 11 year old to go so far away, and so I was frightened as well, I am afraid of going so far away, but more than that, I am afraid of my own self. And also a little bit excited to go where I belong, where I could roam around freely, without fear. I know I am selfish, and I am not denying it.

   The next day they sent the letter to Mrs. Rathore about the further things. It was all like a dream, and I wanna wake up soon from it, because the reality would hurt in the cruelest way if the dream would break at the moment when I let the magic out unafraid. So it's better to end the dream where it didn't hurt the reality much. I can endure this much, not further.

   So many things from an 11 year old!! Its unbelievable, so am I. Because I was born with the unbelievable.