2 Jul 2019, 02:16
Fragmented
The ride home was quiet, between him and his dad, there was sometimes not a lot of be said. The questions came though, Reid wondered where his mom was and wondered what they could do together over the summer. But he was met with half answers and uncanny silence that eventually caused him to go quiet. The whole ride home, his eyes trailed out the window and watched the street roll by. Every year, it seemed more and more foreign to him as he laid his eyes on it.DERBY, UK
Beginning of Summer 2019
Kovacs Household
His mind stuttered at the name of streets, storefronts he used to frequent were faded memories, and his neighborhood looked like a new land to conquer. What struck him odd was a black car in front of their car, windows tinted so much it was nearly impossible to see inside. It was a Jaguar XJ, the strikingly black 1968 model. But from what Reid could tell, it was all but just an unnerving car to look at. The door opened with a hollow click, his eyes landed on his dad as he opened his door. “Are you okay, Reid?”
The young boy nodded slowly, slowly getting out of the car with a caution that his dad noticed. “We have visitors, that’s all.” The boy relaxed as he picked up his stuff, he noticed how he had gotten a little taller, not as tall as his dad, but tall. His foot dragged as if something in his heart was weighing him down the closer and closer he got to the home. His chest squeezed and he felt himself almost hunch in his dad’s presence, who grimaced as he rubbed his eyes. That was a first and Reid noticed, he didn’t get a proper angle to see his dad’s face and all of a sudden, he didn’t notice the red in his dad’s eyes.
He had been crying. Rarely did he ever see his dad cry and when he did, it was over something terrible. The wizard didn’t say anything as he carried his bags, they felt heavier than usual or maybe he felt weaker than before. He stood behind his dad, listening to the rattling keys he held, perhaps struggling to find the right one. Every second that passed made him painfully anxious till he eventually reached out and pointed at the key. “That one, dad.” Josef nodded and opened the door, stepping inside, where Reid was greeted by an odd coldness.
His mum usually kept the home at a decent temperature. “Where’s she?” He looked over his shoulder. The door was closed and his father turned around, his expression grim as he opened his mouth to speak. But before any words came from his mouth, a rich, gravelly voice that commanded his attention. “I will tell the boy.” A flash of anger crossed his dad’s features, something that he shared with his father. “I should be the one to tell him.”
The man stepped out, old and gray, his eyes rather steely as his nose almost crooked downwards and his gaze was nothing but cold. “You’ve done enough, Josef. You don’t know a thing of what you’ve done, I’d rather you step aside and let me handle this.” All of a sudden, the man’s black gloved hand beckoned Reid to follow. He felt his dad defeatedly pat him across the hall and towards the kitchen. With much hesitation, he followed suit and ambled himself over to the table at which the older gentleman sat at. In front of him was a small cup of tea, behind him stood another man, much younger and in his late twenties.
His hair was slicked back and both of them wore a white and black suit, while the older gentleman wore a peacoat to match it. “I won’t waste my time with cycling trivialities, your mother, Edith, is gone.” Reid jerked in his seat, a fit of painful anger and sadness clouded his brown eyes. “You don’t -” The older man glared at the boy, this was no ordinary glare, it held an insurmountable anger from the clear disrespect and what almost seemed like sadness in his eyes.
“You will not talk unless I tell you to, do you understand? I haven’t finished.” Reid felt tears sting his eyes as he pressed his sleeve against it, holding his breath to quell the soft noises that he was making. “Do you understand, boy?” He took a deep breath and nodded, he felt his shoulders shake as he began to feel his hands grow cold and almost number. “Yes or -”
“Yes.” he barked. The older man nodded as he took a deep breath. “I know this is rather hard for you, but what I mean is that she is alive, but she is not here.” Reid stared at the man, his jaw clenched so tight out of anger at him for even coming in here and making business as if he owned it. But he tried to listen. “Your mother and father had a fight, her wand -” His hand came up from under the table and placed it on the surface. It was a slim wand, made of aspen, with runes that were gracefully engraved into it. But the wand had deep cracks, clearly, it must have splintered when the user cast a spell.
“... was damaged by your father on accident. Now, I don’t know what caused her to cast obliviate, but it backfired on her. When a spell like obliviate is not done correctly, it can cause terrible damage tot he user’s memory. That is what has happened to your mother.” For some reason, that didn’t even make him feel any bit better than before.
He had learned enough about spells to understand what happened to his mom and it didn’t really seem to faze him at first. The older man noticed this and didn’t seem displeased at his lack of reaction, but neither did he seem pleased. “You will be moving to Birmingham now.”
Displeasure, his dark brows crashed to form a frown on his forlorn features and his hand slowly clenched. “I’m not leaving my dad.” The man slowly got up and slowly walked over to Reid, who almost felt compelled to curl inwards at the menacing gaze the older man wore like a weapon. “You are going to Birmingham. Do you think your father will let you attend Hogwarts after he’s seen what magic has done to your mother?” Reid opened his mouth, but nothing came out, dry as the reality set in like bricks to a mortar.
“Your father was about to have you both move back to Hungary and live there are normal muggles, taking care of your other relatives in Budapest. I came here to stop that.” He glanced at his father, who stood far down the hall. The light that cast itself on him made him look dimmed, something had left his father’s eyes and it pained him to see. “I can go to a wizard school near Hungary, isn’t there one -”
Sharp and full of impatience, the man cut through as Reid was struck with another coldness that he wasn’t prepared for. It was worse than the students back at Hogwarts, it was the storm that no one would want to be caught in, the kind that someone couldn’t predict. It was the kind where a fool could be punished at any moment and without warning. “Durmstrang will not take you. I have seen you and have seen what you’ve come to, you will be eaten and spat out like a piece of spoiled meat. If you think Durmstrang will even think of taking you, you are sorely mistaken. Your mother precisely stressed the importance that you continue your schooling at Hogwarts and what are you going got do? Squander it? Leave your mother at Saint Mungos while -”
Reid shot up, his anger attempting to match the older wizard’s as he was mere inches from his face. It was slowly becoming clear as to who this man was or his relation to him. “I NEVER SAID I WOULD LEAVE HER! When she’s better -” The man’s hand came up and slammed the table, knocking his anger a peg as he seemed to almost bare his teeth at the boy. “SHE IS NOT COMING BACK. Do you not understand this, you fool? Your mother’s memory will forever be fragmented and she will forever forget who you are without constant reminders. Every time you come to her room, you will be nothing more than a mere stranger to her till you tell her who you are. I came here so my daughter’s only child could finish what she began, so do not waste my time with your nonsense.”
Daughter. This was his grandfather. Grief, Reid could sense the grief in his voice as he spoke. It cracked to show the true nature underneath, the invisible hurt that he was still too young to understand. But he shared an unmistakable sorrow with his grandfather as he slowly sat down. His eyes stung as he pressed the sleeve of his dress shirt against his eye. Silence, he suppressed it as the gravity of the situation finally sat itself down on his back like a perch. Confused, upset, and stricken by an uncontrollable sadness caused his shoulders to shake and his sleeve stain even further.
“Stop your wailing and make a decision. Will you continue what your mother began for you or will you go back with your father to Hungary?” Reid furiously wiped his face with his shirt and sighed. He fiddled with his hands as he slowly sat back down, glancing at his father down the hall. Why was he leaving? His father was muggle, he couldn’t just visit his mother at a magical hospital. But neither did he have to leave their home, their only home, the one he grew up in since he was born. “I’ll …”
The longer he stared at his father, the more his anger had resurfaced, bitter and upset over what his father had done. He felt like his father was abandoning this place, the years and the memories they spent in this home, and treating his wizarding background nothing more of a burden. “I’ll go to Birmingham.” He turned back to his grandfather, whose demeanor didn’t change even after his response. The older wizard headed down the hall to Josef, whom he talked to for a while.
Reid didn’t even say anything as he stared at his hands, they didn’t feel like his own, his mind felt untethered as he struggled to focus on the muffled voices down the hall. “Reid, say goodbye to your father.” The brown haired wizard looked up at the sound of his name and to the voice. Slowly, he got off his chair and clambered towards the two men, slow and heavy. His feet felt chained to the floor, his body ached as if he had aged a hundred years, his eyes stung and something beckoned him to sleep.
The feeling sat on his chest. It convinced him that his arms weren’t his, his legs of someone else, and he was just floating beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was all just noise, all of it was just noise, noise, noise. He looked up at his father, who reached out and wrapped him in an embrace that almost brought him back down to earth. It was familiar and he longed for it, yet for some reason, it burned him harder than any fire he’s encountered and he shirked from it. Rigid and cold, the boy stood there in his father’s hug, staring at the piercing light that shone itself through the glass of their door.
It was almost blinding and it strained his sight, but he could always remember it every day, the way it annoyed him and knocked him out of his stupor when his mum would call him down. Part of him was waiting for the light to get obscured by a dark figure, for his mother to walk through those doors and tell him he wouldn’t have to leave his family. By the time he finished daydreaming, Josef had pulled away, noticing the stoicism that Reid gave him.
“Goodbye, Reid. I know you don’t understand now, but you’ll understand someday.” It felt far away, that someday, it could be tomorrow, next year, or even never. Something was placed in his hand and he looked at it, a paper with an address in Hungary. He stood there as another car came around and two men came out, he couldn’t discern their faces as he was trying his hardest to focus on his father. But once he stopped talking, he was already being asked to leave the home. Josef looked at Reid, who only seemed to turn his head away as he was walking.
The door was closed again and the young wizard couldn’t help but feel trapped, as if he was standing in a place he didn’t know. It was devoid of warmth, devoid of the love in it, and nothing greeted him but his memories. “His mind will be erased of magic. He will only remember you as his son and Edith as his wife, nothing about her or you being magic folk.” He shuffled in his place, unsatisfied with the answer. “Why?” he monotonously asked. The man turned around and began walking back to the kitchen.
“The Statute of Secrecy, muggles cannot know about the magical world. Your father would be a risk. You cannot mention magic or show magic to him either, you’ll be severely punished if you do. I’ll make sure of it.” Reid didn’t respond as he stood there, torn between running to his father or following his grandfather. He was staring into the living space, looking at the corner where their Christmas tree used to be. “Go to the car. Your things have been packed and done with.” he commanded.
Reid’s head slowly turned as he slowly unclenched his jaw, his voice cut through the silence of the home with a rawness that almost pained him. “Who are you?” His grandfather turned around and took a deep breath, fixing his waistcoat as he answered. The much younger man stood beside him, hands in the pocket of his suit, he seemed forlorn. But he was largely hard to read. “Harloch Fosgate, I am your grandfather. This is your uncle, Atticus, he will be the one keeping a close eye on you. Now go to the car.”
Reid turned around, stepping down his home as he headed for the black car. He stopped to look around, his eyes landing on his mother’s hydrangea bush and it drew him in. It had begun to wilt, only his mum really knew how to make sure they grew well, she knew a lot of things. Now he’d never get to learn how to do the things she did, she’d never tell him how much water they needed or what season they should be planted.
He gently picked a few hydrangeas, determined to bring them to her when he visited at the hospital. The door of the house opened and Reid whipped back to the car, carrying the flowers with him as he got into it. The door shut and he stared outside, eyes glued to the street as the flowers gently tickled his chin. “Why’re you bringing those, Reid?” It was his uncle, who had just slipped into the car and noticed the bright pink fauna. The door rattled beside him as Harloch sat on the other end of the vehicle.
The car lurched gently as there was no response from the young wizard. “There are plenty of hydrangeas back in the home, pink and white ones.” His eyes flicked from street sign to street sign, the pavement he used to run on and the asphalt he used to ride his bike on.
“Mum likes the baby blue ones. I like them.” He leaned back as he closed his eyes, the ride became white noise as the young boy’s head rolled back. His hands gently gripped the flower, cupping the petals as if he was afraid they’d break. Everything faded, his mind grappled with a fatigue he couldn't understand and with a future that he couldn't understand either.
"Trouble usually finds me."