So," Black said. "Since you are ready to talk and don't look at me like I'm crazy," he looked at them with a reproachful look. – I'll start my story again. Do you mind?
Sarah and Tom, who had slightly faded under his gaze, lowered their heads in shame and nodded their heads carefully.
"Wonderful, just wonderful," Regulus smiled at the corner of his lips and, putting the cup on the table, continued. - What should I start with?
After being silent for about a minute, Black, having thought about something absolutely important for himself and nodded to himself, said:
"I'll start with the basics so that you understand," folding his hands and looking intently at the young couple, he began the story: "First of all, you must understand that the magical world is not a good fairy tale with a happy ending, but a very harsh reality." Sometimes so harsh that it turns, as is your custom, into dark fantasy? Yes, exactly, exactly that. With its heroes and villains, with good and evil, darkness and light, people and non-humans.
- But what does this have to do with us? – Tom asked, having heard for himself the not very pleasant backstory of the story.
- The most direct, Mr. Wilson, the most direct. But let me continue my story, in which I will describe everything, do you mind? Or do you think that everything that recently happened was a mass hallucination?
- No, I don't think so. And no, I don't mind.
- Fine. So, as is now accepted, magic has existed from time immemorial. Back in the Stone Age, as this time period is commonly called among Muggles, magicians possessed the gift of magic. Muggles are you, ordinary people who do not possess the gift of magic. Muggles are not an insult - it's like a difference in species, because isn't it offensive to you when they call you white-skinned? It's the same for Muggles. Muggles are people deprived of a gift and unable to obtain it. Which is pretty sad, don't you think?
After falling silent, he waited a couple of seconds for this to sink in, and continued:
— Magic, what does it threaten you with? It makes no sense for you Muggles to tell you where magic comes from, why it should be used, how it is used, and much more. What you should know is directly related to your son, Calder, am I remembering correctly?
"Yes, Mr. Black," Sarah replied. - You are absolutely right.
Wonderful," Regulus said, picking up a cup of tea and continuing to look at his reflection in the tea. – Your son, gentlemen, is a magician. Sometimes it happens that children with a gift are born into a Muggle family. These children are divided into two types. The first are mudbloods. Mudbloods are weak magicians who are the descendants of degenerate magicians. Yes, yes, this happens, it happens that magicians, having picked up curses, are deprived of their magic. And yes, you heard right, curses. The word curse in the magical world is not offensive, it has the most direct meaning. For example, you don't need to go far. Sarah, remember those dogs in the park? – seeing how the woman shrugged her shoulders, he continued. - I see that you remember. So, remember what they looked like? Torn out clumps of fur and skin, saliva of an unpleasant color and smell. They smelled 20 steps away. This is exactly what the curse is.
"Aren't curses contagious?" – asked the nervous Tom.
- Oh yes, an interesting question. Sarah, did they bite you? No? Well, great, it means you are not cursed. So, what am I talking about? Mudbloods. When a magician has picked up and accumulated a large number of curses, it happens that he or his descendants are deprived of magic. In ancient times, and in some modern families, such people were expelled from the magical world to the simple, Muggle one. They lived there, multiplied, and over time the curses weakened so much that one of the descendants could awaken their abilities for magic. As a rule, such people were weak both magically and physically. After all, over the course of many years, a bouquet of various curses affected the human body. Which did not benefit both them and their descendants.
- Let me ask you a question, is our son a mudblood?
Lost in thought, Black did not immediately answer.
About 80 percent he belongs to the second category of magicians born into a Muggle family - acquired. The Found are people blessed by magic itself. As a rule, they are born to those Muggles whose ancestors did not have wizards or squibs for 25-30 generations. Squibs are such weak magicians that they cannot perform standard magic, but about that some other time," he fell silent, thinking about something of his own, and continued. -Recovered. A treasure for the world of magicians. Such people are strong both physically and magically. Such magicians do not carry a curse. On the contrary, by marrying a hereditary magician, they can weaken or completely remove the curses that were imposed on the family of magicians. Such magicians are being hunted and a real war is underway. And I strongly recommend that you not spread the word that your son is found. In turn, I promise not to talk about it either.
After taking a sip of tea, he continued.
- Now let's talk about the life of Muggle-borns in the magical world. First, all Muggle-borns are required to enter Hogwarts, the school of the magical world of England, at the age of eleven. And it is not discussed. Was your son born in England? Was born. The first release of magic, in your case the movement from the park to your home, occurred in England? On the territory of England. You are automatically enrolled in Hogwarts and entered in its name book. If you try not to let your son go, or run away abroad, they will find you and change your memory so that you will think that you yourself sent him to Hogwarts.
Sarah and Tom instantly turned pale. How else? When any magician can change your memory, it's scary. What if they removed everything associated with their son?
- Now you understand that this is inevitable. You may be wondering, why am I telling you this? The point is, I owe you, Tom. And it's not like you, Muggles, that I must, I forgive. It's different for magicians. If a person saves a magician, whether it is a magician or not, without selfish motives, then the magician's magic records this in the Life Debt. The magician is obliged to repay this debt, otherwise the magic itself will punish him. And the consequences are no joke. Up to the deprivation of magic. And this is the greatest punishment for a magician.
Sarah and Tom instantly turned pale. How else? When any magician can change your memory, it's scary. What if they removed everything associated with their son?
- Now you understand that this is inevitable. You may be wondering, why am I telling you this? The point is, I owe you, Tom. And it's not like you, Muggles, that I must, I forgive. It's different for magicians. If a person saves a magician, whether it is a magician or not, without selfish motives, then the magician's magic records this in the Life Debt. The magician is obliged to repay this debt, otherwise the magic itself will punish him. And the consequences are no joke. Up to the deprivation of magic. And this is the greatest punishment for a magician.
Tom and Sarah sat thunderstruck. It's not every day that you learn that simply by doing your job, you are dooming someone else to Duty. With a capital D Debt.
- How do you understand that you have given the Debt of Life?
"It's very simple, the magician himself realizes that he has given the Debt of Life." It's just that at one moment he understands: from now on I don't owe you anything. "I have fulfilled my obligations," placing the empty cup on the saucer, he continued. -About your son. In his room I checked whether he was a magician. As I said, your son is a magician and his magic does not carry curses. I decided to repay the Debt of Life through your son, I think it will be more useful for him, do you mind?
- No, no, this is the best outcome in this situation. We couldn't think of anything better.
- Great. In honor of paying off the debt, I will provide you with 3 services. The first is to tell you about your immediate future. I hope I accomplished this to the fullest. The second is paying for your son's education. After all, studying at Hogwarts is not a cheap pleasure. You see, Muggle-borns study through donations from magical families. In order to pay after their studies, young magicians must work off the money spent on them. I think you don't really want your son to work for about 10 years for someone unknown. And finally, the third favor - on his third birthday, I will provide your son with literature that it is advisable for him to read before entering Hogwarts. This literature is the mandatory minimum that young magicians from a magical family should know. I hope everything is clear to you?
- Why exactly on the third anniversary? Isn't it too early?
- But this does not depend on me. I'm not a good Samaritan. If it weren't for my Life Debt, I wouldn't have helped a Muggle family in my life, okay? – Regulus answered with sharply flashing eyes, in which darkness swirled.
"It's very clear, Mr. Black," Tom answered, instantly losing all his cordiality.
- That is great. Now let me take my leave, I have already wasted too much time. All the best to you.
As soon as the last word was spoken, the young magician disappeared. Sarah and Tom sat in the living room for a long time and pondered the words spoken by the magician, who turned out to be not such a good person as he seemed at first glance. Only the sound of a clap, echoing after his disappearance, and an empty cup on the table along with a raven figurine symbolized the presence of a 3rd person in the living room...
Attention! This translation may not be ready yet.