Chapter 220 – Unexpected Things
What was Neville's toad called again?
Leif? Or Foley?
Alexander Smith hadn't paid much attention at first. Looking back, he realized that when he first arrived at Hogwarts, the toad had been called Foley, but since then everyone seemed to call it Leif.
It was amusing, in a way. The toad had first been found by the Black Lake, and after the Battle of Hogwarts it had jumped right back into those waters, escaping from Neville once and for all. In some sense, Neville's Leif had always been seeking freedom.
But that wasn't why Alexander was thinking about the toad.
What caught his attention was something far stranger: Leif possessed a hidden magical power. It was faint, but enough to make Neville constantly overlook him.
At first glance, it resembled a disillusionment charm or invisibility spell. Yet, when Alexander examined it carefully, he realized it was something different—something eerily close to the secret ability of his own Smith family. A magic that did not make one truly invisible, but instead caused the mind to subconsciously ignore what was right in front of it.
This power came from the moon.
The Smith family's magic did as well.
Not because the moon itself was magical, but because of what wizards believed it to be.
Magic in the world came from wizards, and the definitions shaped by their collective thought. The moon, as a celestial body, reflected sunlight. Its waxing and waning meant it was always present but often unseen—never gone, only hidden by its rotation around Earth.
Wizards had taken this concept, distorted it, and drawn forth a unique magic: a power of concealment, of being present yet unseen. The Smith family had honed it, imprinted it into their very blood.
That was why their ability was known as the Phantom of the Moon.
If Alexander had never developed the skill of "thinking," he might have chosen some greater cosmic concept—black holes or white holes, perhaps. Instead, by chance or fate, he had chosen the moon.
Leif, it seemed, had been lucky enough to absorb some of this magic as well.
Alexander understood it, but he still felt vexed. In his previous life, as a Chinese man, he couldn't help but groan at the coincidence: the toad's name sounded like the surname "Lai"!
---
Lost in thought, Alexander followed Hagrid with the others down to the lake and onto the fleet of boats.
Yet his mood lightened when he noticed the sullen expressions of certain students. No matter how virtuous a saint might be, there was always a flicker of joy in witnessing harmless misfortune.
At Hogwarts, the rules were as old-fashioned as Britain itself.
For instance, many Slytherin students lived in Hogsmeade, mere steps away from home. By all logic, they should have been able to simply walk back for the holidays. But no—school regulations forced everyone to take the long route: shedding wizard robes for Muggle clothing, traveling to King's Cross Station, and pretending at normalcy.
Watching their disgruntled faces as they changed into jackets and trousers, Alexander chuckled, his earlier irritation forgotten.
---
On the Hogwarts Express, Harry gazed out at the countryside, which grew greener and more orderly with each passing mile. Beside him, he once again bought sweets from the witch with the trolley—this time only a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans to share with Ron and Draco.
"Ouch, this one tastes like bogeys!" Ron grimaced, but stubbornly swallowed the bean anyway.
"Mine's chocolate," Harry said. Draco leaned closer, lowering his voice. "Harry, how are you spending your summer? Your Muggle relatives are… well…" He trailed off awkwardly.
Harry shrugged. "I thought I might trick them. They don't know I'm not allowed to use magic outside school. But I forgot—Dudley's a wizard now too. Luckily, Dumbledore says I only have to stay at the Dursleys' for one month. Some sort of blood-based protection spell. After that, I can spend the rest of the summer at Sirius's house!" His tone was half regret, half delight.
Draco frowned. "Harry, you can use magic. The Ministry's sensors only detect magical activity in an area—they don't know who casts the spell, only that someone underage did. If anyone comes asking, just blame Dudley. Let them expel him instead!"
Ron looked doubtful. "That's the trace. It detects underage magic. If anyone nearby casts a spell, the Ministry will think it's you. They'll come knocking."
"Yes, but it's not precise," Draco insisted. "If Harry Potter says Dudley did it, who would dare argue? Dumbledore wouldn't let them expel you anyway."
Harry shook his head. "Forget it. Dudley's not that bad anymore. Honestly, if he hadn't become a wizard, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would've celebrated. I don't want to cause trouble for him."
Ron groaned. "Then what about me? Fred once said he wished the Ministry would forget to put the trace on us. Now I realize why he and George were tinkering with 'Muggle tricks' all last year. They were trying to get around the restriction!"
Draco sighed. "Most wizarding families don't even care. They practice at home and hire tutors over the summer. They act like they hate Muggles, but the truth is—they're terrified of falling behind the Muggle-born students."
Only now did Draco realize how hypocritical his family's views had been.
"Why didn't my dad ever tell me this?" Ron muttered. "Bill, Charlie, Percy—they never used magic in front of me during the holidays."
"Your father's an honorable wizard," Draco said quickly. "Arthur Weasley wouldn't take advantage of loopholes unless it was for a greater cause."
Ron straightened proudly. "That's right."
But just as Ron was basking in admiration for his father, fate had a surprise waiting.
---
Outside King's Cross Station, Molly Weasley and her husband stood with stormy faces. Nearby, Lucius Malfoy and his elegant wife were also waiting, dressed in Muggle clothes.
All four adults clutched photographs in their hands. From a distance, one could just make out what they showed: a pale chest of downy white feathers, gleaming in the sunlight…
(To be continued…)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics