Chapter 69: The Shafiq Family
Once the term began, something was troubling Ethan, making him irritable.
Hermione had noticed this early on and had a good idea of what was bothering him, but she couldn't fix the problem, so she could only offer constant comfort:
"Dumbledore will definitely bring it back. Don't worry."
Yes, it was Dumbledore's absence that had him on edge. The Headmaster hadn't been seen since classes started.
Ethan remembered clearly that Dumbledore had promised to bring the alchemical device that could detect bloodlines after Christmas break, but a week had passed since the start of term, and he'd sought out Dumbledore two or three times without success.
Though he had his suspicions, he couldn't be sure until he verified them.
Fortunately, Dumbledore returned on Friday.
After dinner, Ethan headed to the Headmaster's office again.
This time, Dumbledore noticed his irritation and let Fawkes perch on his shoulder to offer some comfort.
Ethan stroked Fawkes's feathers to calm the mix of excitement and anxiety in his chest while staring at Dumbledore without blinking.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm getting scared," Dumbledore joked.
Seeing that Ethan's expression hadn't changed, he dropped his smile and became serious.
"Ethan, I must warn you up front. I borrowed the Bloodline Tablet, but it doesn't guarantee we'll find the source of your bloodline."
"It works by identifying the family most closely related to you based on the wizard bloodlines in your blood, thereby determining the source of your bloodline."
"So, if your parents aren't from bloodlines recorded on it, it's quite possible your bloodline won't be found."
Ethan suppressed the urgency in his chest. "I understand. Is the Shafiq bloodline recorded?"
"Shafiq?" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Why do you mention that name? Do you know something?"
"I do. I found a copy of The Pure-Blood Directory in the library, and the Shafiq family was listed there."
"My middle name happens to be Shafiq."
"And when I bought my wand in Diagon Alley, Ollivander mentioned a mysterious family whose members mostly use wands made of Pandanus wood. That family is the Shafiq family."
Something in Dumbledore's expression steadied Ethan.
He knew he was most likely a true member of this mysterious family, but the Pure-Blood Directory contained little information about them. It simply listed the family as one of Britain's Sacred Twenty-Eight.
Apart from that, only a handful of family members appeared in the recorded genealogies.
Dumbledore let out a thoughtful sigh. He had underestimated this first-year student.
"It seems you know quite a lot, Ethan."
"This time, I've also brought back the slate from the Shafiq family. The borrower I mentioned was Cyril Shafiq, the current head of the French Shafiq family."
Ethan thought, The French Shafiq family? The book had vaguely mentioned that the Shafiqs had branches outside Britain as well, but why would the French branch borrow the slate?
"I know you have doubts. If we can confirm you belong to the Shafiq family, I will tell you these things one by one."
Dumbledore took out a black slate about thirty centimeters square, engraved with golden runes.
The center held a palm-shaped groove about half a centimeter deep. Above it was a small circular hole roughly one centimeter in diameter.
"Come, Ethan. First, use a silver needle to draw a small drop of blood. A fingertip will suffice."
"Yes, drip it into this small hole."
Dumbledore transfigured a silver utensil on a shelf into a needle about ten centimeters long and handed it to Ethan.
After Ethan dripped his blood into the hole, Dumbledore continued, "Place your hand in the palm-shaped groove and channel your magic into it."
Ethan did as instructed.
The moment he channeled his magic, the golden runes on the slate began to glow, and the blood he had dripped into the hole vanished instantly.
"Don't stop. Continue channeling your magic," Dumbledore urged.
His magic drained steadily. After about five minutes, the golden runes began to dim, and a projection appeared above the small hole.
As the runes' light faded, the projection grew sharper. When the runes finally went dark, the image stabilized, frozen in the shape of a tree.
Dumbledore glanced at the family tree. "As I suspected. You are a child of the Shafiq family."
Ethan's hand remained on the slate as he studied the chaotic, complex tree. A straight trunk rose from the thickest roots below. At the first fork, the same name appeared on both sides: Shafiq. The branches continued upward, most bearing the name Shafiq, though occasionally he spotted names like Lestrange and Black. Some branches remained blank.
Noticing Ethan's gaze on a blank branch, Dumbledore explained, "As I mentioned, bloodlines not recorded on the slate appear blank."
"Very well. I will tell you your family's story."
Ethan took one last look at the family tree, lifted his hand from the slate, and the image flickered and vanished.
"Sit down. This will take a while." Dumbledore snapped his fingers, summoning house-elves who brought two cups of black tea. He settled across from Ethan and began to speak of the Shafiq family's past.
The old man seemed to know the Shafiq family well. He took a sip of sweetened black tea and spoke slowly.
"The Shafiq family is the most mysterious of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They rarely marry other British pure-bloods.
"Moreover, even when they do marry outside their bloodline, they only marry women from pure-blood families. No Shafiq woman has ever married out and taken another name.
"So people know very little about them.
"Families like the Lestranges and the Blacks, as you saw on the family tree, also had women marry into the Shafiq family."
He looked up at Ethan. "You saw two Shafiq names on the trunk, which means both your parents were Shafiqs. But as far as I know, one was from Britain and one was from France."
"So you knew them?"
"Yes, I knew them. Your parents were both good wizards," Dumbledore said regretfully.