Chapter 98: Getting Rid of the Trace
Thanks to the house-elves, the manor hadn't fallen into disrepair despite sitting empty for over a decade.
Though the interior showed its age, everything remained clean and tidy.
Ethan was sitting on a sofa embroidered with gold and silver thread when Cyril sighed. "Your grandfather commissioned these while he was still alive. When I first visited Shafiq Manor, he showed them off to me proudly.
"Unfortunately, they're all gone now. I'm the only one left to carry on the Shafiq family line."
Ethan suddenly asked, "How did my grandparents die?"
"I had planned to tell you later. Since you asked, I'll tell you their story first."
Cyril paused to gather his thoughts, then spoke slowly, "Your grandfather Henry, like your father, was a Slytherin. After graduating, he traveled the world. He met your grandmother Grace during one of his adventures.
"Grace wasn't pure-blood; she was a Muggle-born witch. After they met, they continued adventuring together.
"Later, there was an accident during an adventure in Africa. Your grandfather gave his life to protect them. With only one of them left, the childless couple returned to Shafiq Manor and settled into a stable life."
Cyril sighed. "And just like that, nearly twenty years passed. They watched your father grow up and marry your mother. Their desire for adventure surged again.
"The two set out for Egypt, where they died."
"Why did they go to Egypt? To search for the Book of the Dead as well?"
Cyril nodded. "Yes. Because of our bloodline, every Shafiq seeks the secret of death.
"Before they died, they sent word that they'd found clues to the original Book of the Dead."
Your parents also died in Egypt while pursuing those clues. They uncovered new ones.
They had originally planned to focus first on continuing the Shafiq bloodline, having a few more children to carry on both family lines.
"They wanted to wait until you were grown up before continuing to explore this secret, but they never got the chance." Cyril fell silent, overcome with sadness, and Ethan did the same. After a moment, Cyril set aside his grief and continued, "And this is why I plan to take you to Egypt next year. While I'm still able, I must pass this secret down to you." Then Cyril shared stories about his grandparents' adventures and his own interactions with them. Finally, Cyril led him further inside, pointing to two magical portraits on the wall and introducing them. "Grace, Henry, this is your grandson, Ethan." The man in the portrait had blonde hair, black eyes, and a smile. He looked to be about forty years old. The woman beside him had pale blonde hair and blue eyes, and appeared to be about the same age. "Dear Ethan, hello! Nice to meet you, even like this." Henry stepped into Grace's frame. The two squeezed together, looking at Ethan. "Grandpa, Grandma, hello." It wasn't the first time he'd seen magical portraits, but facing those of his own relatives still gave him a strange feeling. Seeing that Grace and Henry seemed to have much to say, Cyril quickly interrupted, "We can talk later. I'll take Ethan to see the rest of the house first." Ethan hoped he might speak with his parents this way too. "Grandfather, are there no portraits of my parents here?" Cyril said regretfully, "Unfortunately, their deaths were sudden and completely unexpected, so no portraits were made. Only a few photographs remain." Cyril gave him a tour of the manor's two-story main house, room by room. Every room was tidy. Apparently, Coco was quite the industrious elf, keeping everything spotless. "Is this our family crest?" Ethan asked, noticing the four-horned dragon head symbol that appeared on utensils everywhere he looked. Cyril nodded. "Yes, it represents the main head of the Great Red Dragon, which has seven heads and ten horns, an incarnation of Satan, the four-horned red dragon." He tapped the dragon head on the bookshelf. "This symbol is the common crest of both the French and British Shafiq families." After looking at all the rooms on the ground floor, the two of them sat back down on the sofa. "Coco, bring me two cups of black tea." "Yes, Master."
Cyril smiled. "I know you received that warning when you left school, but in this manor, you can cast spells freely without worrying about the Ministry." Ethan knew that if adult wizards or elves were present, spells cast by underage wizards generally wouldn't be detected, but he wasn't sure if the Fidelius Charm would interfere. So he asked, "Is it because of the Fidelius Charm, or because Coco is here?" "Because Coco is here. As a registered House-elf, he uses magic for household chores. Especially when I'm around, the Ministry can't trace the magic back to you." "However, there's a simpler way: cancel your contract with the Ministry of Magic." Ethan was puzzled. He knew he hadn't signed any contract. "Contract? You mean that notice we received? I don't remember signing anything!" Cyril revealed the secret. "That's a mandatory contract. Once you received that notice, the contract took effect." A mandatory contract?! There's such a thing?! Ethan found the wizarding world rather dangerous. If a stranger could hand you an unknown object and trick you into signing a contract without realizing it, that would be terrifying. Cyril quickly explained, "Don't worry. The binding power of these mandatory contracts is very weak. They can't force you to fulfill any specific obligations, and you won't be physically punished or anything like that." "This contract only detects magic when it's released within a certain range." "That's why children from wizarding families don't trigger warnings when they cast spells, because there are adults present." "Besides, aside from contracts imposed on underage wizards, I've never heard of any other involuntary contracts like this." "Moreover, for us, breaking this mandatory contract is easy." "Hellfire?" Ethan thought for a moment, considering the Shafiq family's abilities, and concluded that only Hellfire could affect something as intangible as a contract. "Correct! This contract magic works by placing something called the Trace in the underage wizard's soul once they sign with the Ministry of Magic. It tracks the underage wizard's location and detects any magic cast nearby." "And Hellfire just happens to burn away this kind of, um, impurity from the soul." Cyril chose his words carefully. "Trace is an impurity?"
"You could say that. It wasn't originally a natural byproduct of the soul. The soul only produced it because of the contract. Calling it an impurity isn't wrong."
"Before 1875, underage wizards could cast spells during the holidays. The Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery wasn't enacted until 1875. After that, wizards under seventeen couldn't cast spells outside school without receiving a warning from the Ministry of Magic."
"This restriction hits young Muggle-born wizards the hardest."
"Most established families find ways to give their children more practice time than others."
"While most people can't break the contract, there are various ways around the Trace."
"Besides simply having an adult wizard accompany you, there are also alchemical items that can shield the Trace."
"Our family's method isn't exactly perfect because the Ministry renews the contract every holiday."
"That means burning off the Trace every time you receive the notice to make sure it can't track you."
"Plus, even if they detect Hellfire, since it's wandless casting, the Ministry has no evidence, so they can't do anything to you."
"Huh? It works like that?" Ethan slapped his forehead. "Over Christmas, I received the warning and didn't even dare cast Hellfire because I was afraid of getting another warning."
Cyril laughed. "It's not too late to learn now."
"Now I'll walk you through it. Next vacation, you can burn the Trace off yourself at school."
"The Trace looks like a Muggle radio antenna sticking out of the top of your head, about a meter long," Cyril said, gesturing. "So you just need to summon a ball of Hellfire, hold it over your head, position it correctly, and it'll burn away on its own. When you feel a slight burning sensation in your soul, that means the Trace has been destroyed."
"So this is the Trace! I've seen it on other students' heads before. I wondered why some had it and some didn't."
"Apparently, some students received their notices when they went home for Christmas, so the Trace appeared."
Cyril clapped his hands excitedly. "Another amazing talent! You've read the family notes, so you know that not every family member can see things generated by the soul, like the Trace."
Ethan had never mentioned this talent before, so Cyril was curious about what other abilities his grandson had kept hidden.
"So, Grandfather, besides seeing things generated from the soul, like the Trace, does this ability have other functions?"
Although Ethan had seen records of this ability in the family notes, none explained what it could actually do. None of his ancestors had even mentioned burning the Trace with Hellfire. "Do you know what Horcruxes are?" Ethan pretended not to know. "I've heard of them. Terribly evil, complex dark magic, and rumored to grant immortality." He didn't just know about them; he had seen two with his own eyes. Cyril laughed. "Clansmen with this ability are natural enemies of Horcrux makers. With Hellfire, no Horcrux can escape us. Our family destroyed a Horcrux belonging to the legendary dark wizard Herpo the Foul." "Huh?" Ethan was stunned. He hadn't expected his family to have such an impressive legacy, yet no one had recorded it in the notes about developing the ability.