Chapter 70: Ethan Shafiq?
The atmosphere in the Headmaster's office grew quiet. Even the portraits of former headmasters on the walls listened in silence.
Many of them had known the Shafiq family in life and understood them to be truly mysterious, mostly loners who loved adventure and rarely made friends.
After a long moment, Ethan asked softly, "Then who was the murderer? Death Eaters or Voldemort?"
Dumbledore looked somewhat surprised by his courage in even mentioning the name, but shook his head. "Neither. Although it was indeed when Voldemort was at the height of his power, it wasn't them this time."
"So who did it?"
The old man sighed. "Actually, the ones who killed your parents were a group of exiles who roamed the wizarding world. Most were wanted criminals from various countries, operating in organized groups."
"They tried to rob your ancestral home. But your parents resisted desperately, and though they repelled the attackers, both were gravely injured.
"At that time, you had only just been born. Your father unfortunately died on the way to St. Mungo's Hospital."
"And my mother?"
The old man's voice grew hoarse. "Your mother, however, was not so fortunate. She survived, but the injuries were too severe, and she passed away two months later, without ever holding you."
"Although your mother sent word to your grandfather, she didn't know when he would arrive, and she had no one she trusted to take care of you. So she placed you in an orphanage temporarily."
"Unfortunately, your mother passed away at St. Mungo's before your grandfather could arrive. He was delayed by complications, and by then you'd already been moved between several places and eventually adopted."
Ethan fell silent after hearing this. This was quite different from what he'd guessed when he'd learned he wasn't a biological child.
Although he'd later considered that possibility, he was still deeply saddened when Dumbledore revealed the truth.
After a moment, he asked, "What about the other members of the Shafiq family? Why were there only two of them? Doesn't it say the owner of the Pandanus wand is destined to live a long life? Why didn't anyone help them?"
"Since the Shafiq family was so mysterious, Ollivander didn't have a clear picture of the wand owners."
"In fact, by your parents' generation, the Shafiq family had already dwindled. On your father's side, only Rhett remained. On your mother Jenny's side, only your grandfather Cyril Shafiq was still alive," Dumbledore corrected Ollivander's misinformation.
"Rhett and Jenny? I see." He repeated the names.
"What about those criminals? Were they executed?"
His emotions were unstable, and a red light flickered in his eyes.
Dumbledore examined his eyes, trying to gauge his thoughts, and didn't answer right away.
"Headmaster, were those criminals executed?" he asked again.
The old man spoke with pity in his voice. "Them? They weren't completely wiped out. Although Cyril has been working hard these past few years, taking personal action and using his connections to get the various Ministries of Magic to target them, there are still a few murderers roaming around."
Dumbledore couldn't help but ask, "Ethan, what's wrong with your eyes?"
Ethan looked genuinely puzzled. "What's wrong? My eyes are fine."
"There's a red light flashing in your eyes. You never noticed?"
"I don't know. Headmaster, if there's nothing else, I'm leaving." With his doubts resolved, he had no desire to linger in the Headmaster's office any longer.
"Wait." Dumbledore stopped Ethan, who had already stood up.
"This is for you." He took out a wooden photo frame.
"This is... my parents and me?" Ethan looked at the young couple in the photograph, one with blond hair and the other with dark eyes. The woman was holding a baby with its eyes closed, tiny hands flailing.
"Yes. Cyril gave this to me."
"He said to give this to you once it was confirmed that you were the missing Shafiq."
"He also asked whether you would be willing to return to the Shafiq family."
Ethan bit his lip and finally shook his head. "Headmaster, please refuse for me."
"I admit I am from the Shafiq family, but I don't want to return to them."
"I will remember them forever and will avenge them, but I don't need to abandon my current family just to return to the Shafiqs."
He looked at the photo for a long time, studying the poses and smiles of the three people in it.
"Have you truly decided not to return to the Shafiq family? Cyril has never stopped searching for you all these years. Even if you don't want to return to the family, could you at least meet the poor old man?" Dumbledore still hoped he could change his mind.
Ethan hesitated. When he learned his parents hadn't intentionally abandoned him, the anger that had driven him to question them faded.
As for the grandfather he'd never met, he understood the old man's feelings, but he didn't want to create complications or hurt Sofia and Albert.
He ultimately refused.
He left, but another figure appeared in Dumbledore's office.
"You heard that too, Cyril," Dumbledore said to the old wizard.
The old man wore black robes embroidered with silver thread at the cuffs and collar, and a walking stick in his hand. His blond hair was streaked with white, and there was something of Ethan in his bearing.
A disappointed smile crossed his face. "It doesn't matter. It's good that he values affection so much. I'd like to meet his adoptive parents first. Presumably they will understand a lonely old man like me."
"Besides, I don't have many years left. I just hope to spend more time with him before I die."
"Hasn't your injury healed yet?" Dumbledore asked. He was concerned about Cyril, not only because they had known each other for years, but also because Cyril currently served as one of Hogwarts' school governors.
The British Shafiq family had long supported Hogwarts. After Rhett's death, Cyril had temporarily inherited the position.
Cyril shook his head. "It won't heal. Although our family has always used Pandanus wands, we're not long-lived. Even dying at sixty would make me one of the longer-lived members of my family."
"Thank you, Dumbledore, for helping me find the last descendant of the family. I need to prepare to visit his adoptive parents."
"You're welcome. It was just a coincidence." Dumbledore walked Cyril to the gates of Hogwarts and watched him disapparate.
When he returned to the Headmaster's office, he fell into deep thought.
After some time, he whispered to himself, "The last descendant of the Shafiq family..."