A Web Of Magic

Magnus wondered who it could be. Not many people visited their home here. As he opened the door, a short, homely woman greeted his sight. She was red-haired and somewhat pudgy with a kind smile on her face. She seemed familiar to Magnus, yet he couldn't quite recall her name. Before he could ask though, she wrapped him in a tight hug and spoke in a caring voice.

"Oh, my poor boy! I just heard from the ministry yesterday. I am so sorry about your parents Magnus. Thomas and Selene were such good people. First Viola and now them, you must be devastated," she said.

Magnus finally recalled who she was. She used to visit his aunt sometimes. He felt glad that someone came for him and said," Thank you for your concern Mrs. Weasley. I am glad you could visit."

"Don't you worry Magnus. The Ministry assigned me as your temporary guardian to take care of you. After all that Viola did for my family this is the least I could do. Now come along dear, you must be starving," Mrs. Weasley dragged him to the table to the left of the living room where the kitchen was located overlooking the overgrown garden. She quickly pulled out ingredients from her bag as she familiarized herself with the kitchen.

Soon, she had a meal going on as she kept making small talk. Apparently, she also lived in Devon along with her family and since her twins would also be starting school with Magnus, the ministry along with Dumbledore decided that she'd make a good guardian until they found any living relatives of his. Magnus knew he didn't have any other relatives, so Mrs. Weasley would likely be his guardian till he became an a.d.u.l.t. From the way her stew tasted, Magnus was glad they did so. He didn't know anything about cooking and she looked like a nice lady.

After an hour, she bid him farewell with the promise that she'd return tomorrow and do a bit of cleaning. The house had acc.u.mulated some dust after months of disuse. There was enough stew and bread to last for supper, so Magnus wasn't so worried anymore. With a well-fed stomach, he decided to clean his room and take a nap.

His bedroom was painted purple as was most of the house interior. His great aunt Viola had a liking for purple. Magnus didn't mind as he too liked purple, though not to the extent of his aunt. The fact that his ceiling looked like a starry sky during the night did help the cause. After a quick clean-up and a change of covers, he sank into the soft bed and was soon off to dreamland.

But unlike the bright explosions and loud screams that filled his dreams the last few days, his dream was filled with stars. And amidst the stars, there appeared a familiar person, his great-aunt Viola. She never liked being called great-aunt so he always called her aunt. Magnus was thrilled, at least in the dreams he could meet family.

"What are you gawking there for Magnus? Come give your aunt a hug," his aunt spoke with a kind smile.

"Aunt Viola, are you real? This is a dream, right?" Magnus questioned as he hugged her. The familiar smell of purple lilacs tickled his nose and made his eyes misty.

"Now now Magnus. It's nice to see you too. I am both real and not. I placed my diary under your bed before I was admitted to the hospital. I left a trigger on your mind that day at the hospital. It's an old family technique called Dream Messaging; I just added my own twist to it. When you sleep on your bed, you'd come here. We have a lot to talk Magnus and not enough time. I sense you are really sad. Tell me child, what happened while I was gone?" Aunt Viola enquired.

So, Magnus recited all that had happened since her passing four months ago. Viola listened patiently and by the end of the tale, she gave a deep resigned sigh. "I was afraid something of that sort happening Magnus. I specifically told your parents not to leave Britain any time soon. Why did they go to Egypt child?"

"They got a message that a rare ingredient they were looking for was found in Egypt. I don't know what it is though. They never told me," Magnus replied sadly.

"Let me guess, it's probably a Bloodthorn flower. Who gave them the information? It's probably that wretch Fletcher. I have an inkling of what happened Magnus. Before I tell you though, there's something very important you should know. Something that would give you an understanding as to what happened," Viola replied in a solemn tone.

"What is it Aunt Viola?" Magnus asked curiously. This whole situation didn't make sense to him. Anything that would help is a welcome.

"Our family history child. Why did you think I made you learn Ancient Greek? We didn't originate from here Magnus, as in not from Britain. We were originally from Greece. We were said to be the descendants of a famous seer called Mopsus. Mopsus was a great seer of his time and was highly venerated in Greece. But eventually, his fame caused him to fall out with the king of that time and his opponent Calchus took this as a chance to defeat him. We don't know exactly what happened but eventually, both the families declined and went out of public sight. A few centuries ago, our family's enemies started a feud with us once again. Things got ugly and we had to flee from Greece. We travelled for years through various countries, never settling too long in a single place to throw off our relentless enemies. Eventually, we settled here in Britain. We took many names over the years. Webb is what we are called now in Britain," Viola gave a pause as she was sure Magnus was dying to ask some questions.

"Why did they chase us for so long? What do they want?" he asked appalled. Surely no one would hold a grudge for so long, right?

"While we aren't very sure, we were able to deduce that they wanted us to find some treasure that Mopsus left behind," Viola explained.

"Why don't we just give it to them and be done with it?" Magnus asked naively.

We don't know where it is child, if it exists at all. Our ancestors tried to come up with a truce, but the opponents were quite convinced that sacrificing Mopsus's descendants will somehow lead them to the treasure. Our family isn't known for our martial magic, so we were always on the losing side. Our talents lay in Divination you see. We would predict when our enemies will strike and run away before they could. Unfortunately, our enemies were also well versed in divination and thus the chase continued till we reached Britain. We thought they gave up after that, but the recent events say otherwise," Viola clarified.

"Why did they never attack us here? Why in Egypt? It could be someone else that attacked in Egypt, right?" Magnus asked confused.

"Simple Magnus, for one they do not exactly know where we live in Britain. We picked up a few tricks in our travels Magnus. While not at the level of the Fidelius charm, you will know what that is later, we did manage something that would confuse them. That is the reason we have two houses as I am sure you were curious. One in the muggle world away from the wizards and the other in the wizarding world away from the muggles. It confuses any divination spells from finding us properly. The wizards only know about our house in Devon so be a dear and don't mention the house in Hampstead to them. The more cards we have the better."

"The reason they attacked in Egypt is simply because they cannot attack us here. Greece isn't what it used to be and the British Ministry of Magic is much more influential. They do not allow foreign dark wizards to easily enter the country. Their local policies are more questionable though, but that is a topic for another day."

"As to your later question, I am sure it is them or someone related to them. You see, Bloodthorn flower is required in a specific ritual that is very useful to us. No point in hiding now, might as well give you all the bad news at once. Our enemies put a curse on us Magnus. The worst kind of curse, a blood curse. That is how they were able to track us while making sure we would be weakened. The curse gradually erodes our strength Magnus. The more magic you use, the faster it spreads. Eventually, we will turn to stone from the inside and die. That's why you never saw us using much magic. We held back as much as we could. The ritual is the cure we found, but the ingredients are very rare. Your parents probably took the risk because of the flower, if not they wouldn't go against my words. Not only do our enemies hunt us, but they also insult us by denying us our usage of magic. They are that vicious," Viola trembled in anger.

Magnus digested her words solemnly, but before he could ask any more questions, his world started spinning. Looking at his worried face Viola spoke," it seems our time is up for the day Magnus. Do not worry, you are just low on magic. This place here runs on your magic. We shall meet here again tomorrow Magnus. We'll meet until all the content in my diary is conveyed to you. You can trust Molly; she has her faults but she's a good woman. I didn't charge her for naming her daughter so she owes me a favor. But, tell no one of our conversation or about our family. See you soon."