Unaware that he had been labeled a madman after only one eting, John was instead fascinated by his father's business empire.
"So you didn't just open one. You opened twelve?"
At the dinner table, John tore apart so bread and fed it to Basil.
Beside him, Ariana copied his actions, feeding kale salad to Kiki.
Kiki was furious but dared not complain. I'm a mighty fire dragon, and you're feeding vegetables?
The greens crunched noisily in his mouth as Kiki drooped his head in despair.
He could not afford to provoke her. The power within this little girl was terrifying even to dragons.
"Ahem, yes." Watson looked imnsely proud of himself.
John glanced at his smug expression and said calmly, "So from now on, wherever you go, there'll be no fewer than a hundred pairs of eyes watching you?"
"That's all for your sake," Watson declared righteously. "Don't worry. Your father would never reveal your magic."
Watson's seemingly carefree attitude moved John deeply.
"There's actually a spell called the mory Charm," John said. "I could…"
"No. That would be discovered."
Watson shook his head. "I understand Mycroft. He's an exceptionally intelligent man. Like a mory palace, if even one book is misplaced, he can spot it instantly."
"Alright, I didn't think it through carefully enough," John said. "I'll handle the relationship with the Muggles properly."
His father had truly gone to great lengths to protect the secret.
Just as Watson said, for intelligent people, mory Charms were not a good solution.
"It's a sha I won't be able to take you to the station for your school anymore," Watson said regretfully.
As a transparent man, the mont he stepped outside, countless eyes would be fixed on him.
The governnts of various countries did not want him dead, but neither did they want him living too comfortably.
The following days unfolded exactly as Watson had predicted.
Agents from various intelligence organizations began appearing everywhere.
As for how John knew?
Those agents were excellent actors, but unfortunately, their minds could not act.
The hotel opened.
There was no grand fanfare. It was as though the building had suddenly appeared overnight.
The hotel began operating, and its first guests were influential figures from the political world.
People were selfish. Those willing to support Watson naturally had demands of their own.
Among the promises Watson offered, certain individuals would receive exemptions.
They would never appear in the hotel's assignnts, and in return, they were required to provide protection for the hotel.
…
The holiday passed little by little.
And John was fulfilling his promise.
He brought Ariana to Silverhand Manor.
After dismissing the guards, he took out a milky-white potion.
A soul potion.
"Trust , Ariana."
John reached toward the diadem bracelet. Ariana shrank back slightly, but John comforted her softly. "I'm here."
Ariana cald down, allowing John to remove the bracelet.
Without the enhancent of the wisdom artifact, the Obscurus that eroded the mind began affecting Ariana once more.
Her emotions beca unstable, and she looked at the soul potion with fear.
"It's alright, Ariana," John encouraged gently. "It can heal you."
Hearing the word "heal," Ariana gathered her courage and drank the soul potion.
At that instant, black mist burst from her body.
"Ahhh!"
A scream rang out as a terrifying wave of magical power exploded outward.
When it reached the periter, it was blocked by the barrier that had risen around the area.
Standing at the center, John's hair whipped wildly in the wind as the black mist launched itself toward the only living target.
Black energy erupted around John's body, transforming into equally dark matter that blocked the attack.
Dark currents flowed through his eyes as he extended his hand, using ntal magic to soothe Ariana's emotions.
"Learn to control it, instead of being controlled by it."
ntal magic carried his voice directly into Ariana's mind.
The chaotic turmoil within her gradually cald.
The power of the Obscurus continued attacking John relentlessly, destroying everything around them.
Standing in the center of the darkness, John was swallowed by the massive black vortex ford by the Obscurus.
He called Ariana's na again and again.
Just before the Obscurus could tear apart Silverhand Manor, Ariana finally regained consciousness.
When she opened her eyes, she looked confused. A white wand was pointed at her.
Reaching out to hold the tip of the wand, Ariana timidly said, "Yor."
"Looks like you're doing a little better." John snapped his fingers. The destroyed objects reassembled themselves, only to quickly collapse again.
"Well, it seems I'll need to buy new ones."
Leading her along by the wand, John asked Ariana, "Want to take a walk through Diagon Alley?"
Ariana nodded.
Soon after, inside an ice cream shop in Diagon Alley.
John stared suspiciously as Ariana poured a huge spoonful of honey over her ice cream.
Were all Dumbledores reincarnated bees?
Ariana happily ate the sweet ice cream, her face full of smiles.
Resting his chin on his hand, John caught sight of so familiar faces from the corner of his eye.
"Please, Molly, Voldemort isn't around anymore."
"Sirius, have you forgotten about Grindelwald?"
"Oh, no."
Sirius Black clutched his head. Beside him sat Harry and Ginny.
Sirius wanted to create an opportunity for Harry and Ginny to spend ti alone, so he used helping at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes as an excuse to send the two children away.
Molly saw right through his sche. Just because you're Harry's godfather doesn't an you can do whatever you want. I was taking care of Harry long before you were.
Mr. Weasley wanted to help as well, but he was quickly distracted by the radio beside him.
Noticing John looking over there, Ariana also turned her head.
"Being carefree isn't so bad sotis," John remarked. Then he suddenly asked, "Ariana, what do you like?"
"Yor," Ariana answered without hesitation.
John was helpless. "Other than ?"
"Dad, Mom."
"Alright, other than them."
That question truly stumped Ariana. After thinking for a long while, she looked at John with those clear eyes and answered, "Tom."
"Alright, I think maybe you shouldn't go to school after all."
John gave up. He had originally planned to arrange seven years of compulsory education for Ariana, but it seed she did not need it.
Compared to school, Ariana preferred staying with familiar people.
Everyone in the neighborhood already knew the Wicks had adopted a daughter.
Dudley Dursley had run into Ariana before, and he had been so stunned by her beauty that he stood there like a polar bear.
The Wick family was completely different from the Dumbledores.
They never hid Ariana away. Besides making tea, Mrs. Wick had developed another hobby.
Dressing Ariana up.
Having long wanted a daughter, Mrs. Wick even called her close friends to show off, secretly telling them that she planned to pass down those recipes from Chef Chang to Ariana. (The asshole chef whose books Mrs. Wick and Daphne read about adding fruit to food.)
By the end of the holiday, Ariana had fully integrated into the family.
As her treatnt progressed, she no longer stayed silent like before.
And as she gradually gained control over the Obscurus, she beca capable of casting so simple spells, though only with the support of Ravenclaw's diadem.
There was even a small misunderstanding during this ti.
John had thought the "Tom" Ariana liked referred to their dog, so he specifically sent Tom to spend more ti with her.
As a result, after interrupting Ariana while she was watching television, Tom was chased around by a teddy bear controlled by Ariana.
Only then did John realize that the "Tom" she ant was the cat from Tom and Jerry.
Poor Tom had been wrongfully accused and driven back to the attic by the teddy bear.
She curled up miserably inside a cabinet, only for Basil to decide she was in the way and chase her out as well.
Tom: In this enormous Wick household, there isn't even a place for .
Ti slowly passed.
John was also about to enter his final year at Hogwarts.
The day before school started.
John packed his luggage.
There really was not much to bring. One small bag was enough to hold everything.
Speaking of the bag, he truly missed the one his teacher had owned. Unfortunately, unlike the Sword of Silverwick, that bag did not possess any special magic that allowed it to return to its owner.
It was probably lying sowhere in the world now, or perhaps drifting through space as a piece of orbital junk.
"What a waste. There were still magic crystals and magical artifacts inside." John sighed.
He tapped the table, and the quill and ink hopped into his bag as though they had grown legs.
Then one piece of clothing after another floated up and folded itself neatly.
The abandoned birdcage had originally belonged to Basil, though later Basil refused to go inside no matter what.
The next day.
Watson normally would not have been able to see anyone off, but John found another thod for him.
The family of four stepped through the fireplace into Knockturn Alley, leaving Watson marveling at the wonders of magic.
After leaving Knockturn Alley, they got into a prepared car and drove toward King's Cross Station.
Yet during that brief period, the people monitoring Watson nearly lost their minds.
A living person had vanished into thin air.
____
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