[Note: Read up to Chapter - 29 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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Xeno's calm voice echoed through the room, carrying a subtle edge of seriousness.
He wasn't some clueless kid like Luna—he was an adult wizard, and he knew the signs.
Magical riots like this usually only happened when a wizard was awake and highly emotional, their magic lashing out on instinct.
So he was certain—the boy was awake.
The fact that he hadn't opened his eyes yet? That's exactly why Xeno's tone had sharpened.
Something about this boy didn't sit right. He could feel it in his gut—this boy wasn't ordinary.
By now, Aris had fully absorbed the power of Merlin's talent card and had sensed Xeno's presence. There was no point keeping up the act any longer.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze swept around the room, then calmly met Xeno's.
"Who are you, then?" Xeno asked, tone firm and probing.
What caught him off guard was the boy's composure. Not a flicker of fear or confusion—just a steady, measured calm that felt completely out of place for a child.
"My name's Aris. Aris Shafiq," the boy replied evenly.
"Could you tell me where I am?"
Facing Aris's steady gaze, Xeno's expression grew even more serious.
There was just something about this kid...
He didn't act like a child. If anything, it felt like he was speaking to a grown man—someone who'd seen things, been through life, and carried that quiet weight with him.
It was unsettling.
And then, the surname hit him.
Shafiq?
The name stirred something in his memory. His eyes narrowed slightly.
A second later, his face shifted—surprise and confusion flickering across it as he studied the boy more closely.
There was something here—something big.
But before Xeno could speak, Luna beat him to it.
With a bright grin, she skipped over to Aris's bedside, her silver eyes sparkling with warmth. She held out her small hand cheerfully.
"Don't worry, we don't mean you any harm!" she said sweetly.
"This is my home. I'm Luna Lovegood—and that's my dad. Lovely to meet you!"
Her voice was airy and soft, carrying a kind of magic all its own. It put people at ease without even trying.
"Nice to meet you too," Aris replied with a gentle smile, reaching out to shake her hand.
And he meant it.
Back in his old world, he'd always liked Luna—the whimsical girl who felt more like a fae than a student. Now, holding her tiny hand, he felt the warmth of her touch.
It was surreal… dreamlike, even.
Xeno stood there, staring blankly as the two kids hit it off in no time. But inside, his surprise was growing stronger by the second, mixed with a deep sense of confusion.
"Shafiq? What's your connection to the Shafiq family?"
In the end, he couldn't hold it in—his question slipped out before he had a chance to think.
Aris turned toward him, just about to respond—
Hoot!
A loud owl's cry rang out from the window.
The next moment, a swift figure swooped in through the open frame—an owl, moving with sharp precision, circled the room once and dropped a letter neatly in front of Aris.
"Wait a sec... Is that, an acceptance letter from Hogwarts?"
Xeno blinked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He immediately recognised the crest stamped on the envelope—there was no mistaking it. And from the looks of it, the letter was meant for Aris. Luna wasn't even eleven yet, so it couldn't be for her.
More importantly, Xeno knew that **Hogwarts' enchanted admission tools—the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance—**never made mistakes. If a letter had been sent, that meant only one thing:
Aris was officially recognised as a wizard.
"You actually got a Hogwarts letter!"
Luna stood frozen for a moment in shock, but quickly snapped out of it. A wide smile lit up her face, her eyes full of excitement.
"Quick! Open it! Let's see what Hogwarts has written to you!"
Caught up in her energy, Aris blinked. The sudden appearance of the owl and Luna's excitement left him a bit dazed—and for the moment, he completely forgot about answering Xeno's question.
He'd just crossed over—and the Hogwarts acceptance letter had already arrived? That was quick, wasn't it?
Still a bit dazed, Aris picked up the parchment envelope in front of him.
A deep red wax seal kept it shut, and just beneath it was a familiar crest: a shield bearing a lion, eagle, badger, and snake curled around a large capital "H". He knew that emblem all too well.
Turning it over, he spotted the address, written in elegant, emerald-green ink:
Aris Shafiq,
Lovegood House,
Second floor, room on the left,
Near the hill,
Ottery St. Catchpole.
Just holding the enchanted parchment made Aris feel giddy. His heart fluttered without him even realising. It was as if some great magical world was slowly swinging its doors open, and this letter was his golden ticket.
"Go on, open it!"
Luna was clearly more excited than he was. Seeing him standing there in a daze, she couldn't help but nudge him along.
Aris glanced at her, gave a small nod, then drew a steady breath. Carefully, he broke the wax seal, pulled out the parchment inside, and began to read:
Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr Shafiq,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl no later than 1 August.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
After reading the letter, Aris turned his eyes to the thicker bit of parchment still inside—it had to be the school supplies list. And by the looks of it, there were loads of things to buy for a first-year student.
Then something in the letter clicked in his mind.
Reply before August 1st?
Blimey. That gave him... not much time at all.
He remembered from the Harry Potter books that Harry's acceptance letter asked for a reply before 31st July—his birthday.
So it seemed Hogwarts generally required responses before a student's eleventh birthday, just to finalise the list of young witches and wizards for that year.
Then, Xeno suddenly muttered—his eyes locked on the letter in Aris's hand.
"You're really a descendant of the Shafiq family—one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. How's that even possible?!"
The confusion on his face had vanished, replaced by sheer shock.
In the wizarding world, bloodline meant everything. It wasn't just about heritage—it was status, history, and power all rolled into one.
And the surname Shafiq?
That was heavy stuff. One of the Sacred Twenty-Eight—pure-blood families considered the backbone of magical society. Unless you were born into the Shafiq line, there was no way you'd be carrying that name. Full stop.
And now, Aris had just received a letter from Hogwarts, officially confirming him as a young wizard.
That meant… there was a bloody high chance he really was a Shafiq.
Xeno's brow furrowed. He lowered his head slightly, deep in thought.
"What's wrong, Daddy?"
Little Luna tilted her head, peering curiously at him.
Aris looked puzzled too. He had no idea why Xeno was suddenly so sure he belonged to the Shafiq family—even though, technically, the system had indeed given him that identity.
And not just any identity.
He was the last heir of the Shafiq line.
Xeno looked up at Aris, still visibly rattled, his voice laced with disbelief.
"Rumour has it, ever since the rise of… well, you-know-who, the last two members of the Shafiq family vanished without a trace. Just disappeared off the face of the wizarding world…"
"Some say they were murdered—taken out for defying him. Others reckon they went into hiding. Either way, no one's heard from the Shafiqs since. The other Sacred families stayed quiet about it, didn't say a word."
"We all just assumed the Shafiq line had died out completely."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"And now here you are—claiming to be a Shafiq. So how come you've turned up here, of all places?"
Aris furrowed his brow ever so slightly, mind racing.
Right—there was no way he could admit to being a traveller from another world. That'd be mental.
He needed to play this carefully—reveal just enough to make his story believable, to confirm his identity as the final heir of the Shafiq family without making Xeno suspicious.
He'd have to tread smartly.
Luckily, he remembered from the books that Xeno was a decent sort. Eccentric, yes—but not cruel.
Until he could get his bearings in this world, staying here might be his best shot at laying low.
Yeah… for now, sticking around the Lovegoods seemed like a solid plan.
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[Note: Read up to Chapter - 29 on P patron at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]