20

The Gryffindor common room had taken a very welcome turn this year -- Eli entered and noticed a new magic telephone lying neatly on a round table by the fireplace.

Has it been rolled out to every college common room? Eli's spirits perked up and he felt genuine joy. Hogwarts is home to all the future witches and wizards of England, and giving this group of people access to magic telephones from now on, when they come into contact with these Muggle-related objects in the future, will have a welcome change in their outlook.

He had not expected Hogwart to respond so quickly to such a new trend. It must have been a welcome change - he could hardly imagine how Dumbledore had persuaded the other members of the board, even though he knew the newspapers and outside voices would be full of criticism - this was a visionary, courageous, remarkable man.

At this moment Eli's respect for Headmaster Dumbledore had reached a whole new level.

The Gryffindors had all seen the magic telephone, too, and, thanks to Eli, they knew a lot about it -- you'd be familiar with it if one of your classmates had been in the news for it and had caused a great deal of wizarding discussion.

They gathered round curiously, studying the object with a fresh feeling.

"It works! As one of the family who had a magic phone installed over the summer, James the Potters explained excitedly, "It's almost impossible to use magic to make remote calls to people. My dad has researched it and he says even the squibs work! Faster than an owl, cheaper than Floo powder -- and if you need to take a message to someone, there's nothing like a magic telephone!"

'We know, James,' he said. "Said the Muggle family, laughing." Hey, that's something we invented over there, thanks for the introduction, but of course we know how to make a phone call. Of course magic is amazing and can do a lot of things that Muggles can't, but there are a lot of interesting things in the Muggle world, and the telephone must be one of them."

"Can it call Muggle landlines?" Everyone leaned in front of the phone to look, and someone asked excitedly, "Will I be able to contact my family from school anytime?"

| "can, as long as you know the phone number." Eli replied affirmatively, then reflected for a moment. "But when calling the Muggle world, you may need to connect Muggle numbers to magic phones ahead of time, for reasons of confidentiality."

"That's right." The new Gryffindor prefect came in from outside with a notice in her hand, which she stuck on the bulletin board and nodded back at Eli. "Of course, you must know a lot about magic telephones... Wizarding families who have such a need need to apply to the Ministry of Magic for additions. Public phones at Hogwarts are much less cumbersome, and students who want to add a Muggle phone number simply need to apply to the Head of each house. Rest assured, it is not difficult, as long as it is truly a home phone, it will be approved."

"What, you can't just call a Muggle?" 'said James, very disappointed and depressed.' How! I thought it would be fun to make up numbers and call around during the holidays! Wondering if we could get to the Muggle side --"

"I guess they're just guarding against restless troublemakers like you, man." 'Everyone was very happy,' said Sirius.

The general interest in the magic phone was clearly a good start, certainly in Gryffindor at least. But given the time it took to apply to Professor McGonagall, the wizarding family's current rate of wizarding telephones was not high enough, and everyone was tired by now after a long train ride. Only James finally phoned home to ask his mother about the colour of her dress, and soon everyone went back to bed in their dormitories.

Eli, however, could not sleep. After washing and tossing for a while in his dormitory bed, he finally sat up quietly, quietly pulled open the dormitory door and returned to the Gryffindor common room.

It's empty now, but it's not too late. He sat by the magic telephone, stared at its dial for a moment, picked up the receiver, and dialed the home phone.

It was Mrs. Smith who picked up the phone. On the other end of the line came the sound of a TV show. The host and the guest were laughing together.

"Hello? The Smiths. '

Eli was silent for a moment. "It's me, Mom," he said softly.

"Eli? Are you in the headmaster's office?" "Said Mrs. Smith, startled, and two seconds later she realized." Oh, I think Arthur said when he came over that Dumbledore had installed magic telephones in the four common rooms at Hogwarts, didn't he? It'll be easy for you to contact us from now on. Good, it's no faster than waiting for an owl to deliver a letter. So the owl can be used only for Posting..."

Mrs. Smith, momentarily listening to her own words, asked her son keenly, "Eli? What's the matter with you?"

Eli felt his throat prickly, but he said, "I ran into Regulus of Black's today, Mother, and he told me... Your maiden name was Lestrange."

There was silence on both ends of the line.

"Yes, that's right." It was after a while that Mrs. Smith spoke quietly and coldly. "Terrible name, isn't it?"

Eli thought and thought, and finally said cautiously, "I think Linda, too. Smith sounds better than Linda Lestrange."

Mrs. Smith smiled, amused at her son's deliberation.

"Relax, I haven't heard from that side in thirteen years." 'she said carelessly.' Though we're all alive, we think we're dead. That's what we both think. '

Eli was strangely relieved to find that his mother did not seem to have any unforgiving love-hate entanglements with the ancestral family. He relaxed a little and said, "You don't come from that family at all, Mom."

"Really? I think I might have been a bit too." "Recalled Mrs. Smith, faintly curling the corner of her lower lip." Growing up in a family like that, it's hard to keep your mind from becoming obnoxious by pedantry... But I am a Ravenclaw, and I have always had my own independent opinion of the things I face."

'Sirius of the Lestranges. Black? ' Eli asked curiously.

"Not so much. It's not a family favourite, but it's certainly better than Gryffindor. My mum died of illness when I was three, my dad died in a spell accident after I got my Hogwarts acceptance letter, and I was left alone in that house after that, and I was lucky enough to grow up invisible."

Mrs. Smith, with a quiet voice, paused, then silently picked up the TV remote and turned off the noisy set.

"My dad wasn't much of a presence at home, and they all thought he was too wimp for a Lestrange, especially after he married a Hufflepuff wife who died too young. He was not nearly as popular with the family as his brother, who had been one of the first to serve You-Know-Who, and the Lestranges had always been loyal to You-Know-Who, from his brother to his two sons -- my Cousins, Rodorfs and Rabestan, had graduated and were officially serving You-Know-Who, they said, good Lestranges boys. "

"My... Don't you agree with You-Know-Who, Grandpa?" Eli asked curiously.

"I don't know. I was too young when he left. He didn't talk to me about it." "But if he were in a position similar to mine, I might guess -- what is the point of supporting pure blood if you come from a family of pure wizards and are still disliked by your family for various reasons? Those benefits, whether they materialize or not, certainly won't accrue to you. There are different classes of pure-blood wizards, and if you're at the bottom, it's not that different from a Muggle."

Eli was fascinated, his eyes on the receiver, as if he were watching his mother through space.

"So you ran away from that family as an adult and married Dad?" 'he asked curiously.

"No, it has nothing to do with anything like that." 'I only married your father because I loved him and he loved me -- isn't it wonderful? I didn't really have any particular love for Muggles at the time, but that's the way it is, you don't come to care if the person you're attracted to is magical or not -- or if the person you're attracted to is the worst magic they've ever been given."

It sounded so warm that Eli could not help but curl his lips and say from the bottom of his heart, "That's very nice."

His mood lightened, but Mrs. Smith's tone became serious. Both sides of the line were quiet now, and her voice came through the receiver as if she were telling her son closely, the formality and urgency of her words so clear that Eli corrected his attitude.

"Now you know why I told you to watch your words, Eli." "You're a Lestrange," Mrs. Smith warned him again. "If they even start talking about you, they must be up to no good -- I've been in the papers all these years, and I've put my name in books and printed it all over the place, and they haven't even done anything about it, because they look down on what I do and never think anything of me. But now that they've seen you, you know, it's much scarier than being ignored."

I understand. Eli replied silently, feeling heavy in his heart.

"Fortunately, you'll be relatively safe at Hogwarts. Don't wander off and make a scene." "Asked me where the safest place is right now, I'd say Hogwarts -- everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who's afraid of, and he's never laid a finger on Hogwarts so far, so it's a good thing you're starting school now."

Dumbledore's name was like a shot in the arm, dispelling the gravity, and both mother and son felt less tense now. They chatted a little more, then hung up, and Eli sat down in the lounge armchair for a moment, then checked the time, got up, and headed out of the Gryffindor common room.

It's not curfew yet, but there are no more students wandering around outside. The portraits looked at him curiously as he walked down the corridors of the castle, stopped in front of Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly and Professor McGonagall sat down at her desk and looked at him unexpectedly. 'Yes, Smith? It's very late now."

"I've come to apply for a Muggle number, Professor," he said. Eli said, going to his desk and writing a number on it.

"You are very fast, Smith, in fact, the fastest. Of course, you were involved in the modification of the magic telephone, and of course you were quick to react..." Professor McGonagall looked carefully at the number, added it to the trusted network, and followed the procedure to confirm, "This is your home phone, isn't it?"

"Actually, no." Eli coughed and answered truthfully. "Arthur changed my home phone to a magic one... It's a Muggle friend of mine, and I need to keep in touch with her."

Professor McGonagall stopped and stared at him in surprise. "Muggle friend? Then we need to check the secrecy act, Smith."

"I don't think that's necessary, Professor." "She knows about the wizarding world -- her sister is a wizard too, Lily from our house. Evans, Professor."

"Oh, that's right." Professor McGonagall understood and nodded. "So Evans needn't apply? That's fine."

"Maybe not." Eli said, a little embarrassed, his ears reddening silently. "This is... Well, my friend's phone number at school, and Lily will probably still need to register her home number, Professor."

Professor McGonagall looked at him in surprise. Eli looked at her for only two seconds, then silently looked away, embarrassed. This was the normal procedure for adding a number, but for some reason he was embarrassed, probably because he was bothering Professor McGonagall a little too much at night.

"All right." Professor McGonagall finally said, and when she had finished recording the call, she waved her wand. "You can speak normally, Smith. Don't forget the secrecy laws."

"Thank you very much, Professor." "Said Eli quickly, and then, without sparing a moment, he retreated from the Gryffindor head's office, leaving Meg to look at the slightly vibrating door for a moment, then chuckle and shake her head slightly.

Young people these days, it's just.

Eli walked back to the common room in a hurry, with a subtle feeling of guilt all the way. But as he sat down again by the phone, he soon realized that his curfew was running out of time. Though Hogwarts didn't impose any restrictions on how late students could stay in the lounge, he knew that there were regular lights out at the Muggle School, and any later would disturb sleep.

He dialed the phone and it picked up quickly.

"Eli? Before he could speak, the opposite asked in a brisk, expectant voice.

"How do you know?" Eli smiled and asked curiously. "I don't think I said I'd definitely call tonight."

"But you said try." "Said Petunia." I knew you'd try -- that's the kind of person you are."

She yawned faintly. "But it's a bit late. I waited for you -- in theory I should have gone to bed half an hour ago."

"I'm sorry." Eli said earnestly. "I've got a little too much going on here... Every year the opening ceremony ends a little late."

"The opening ceremony of our school also has, but in the afternoon, there are outstanding student representatives to speak, there are several leaders in turn to say some long nonsense." "We've been driving a little too long today, too, and Alice next to me has been showing off her new holiday earrings to everyone around her -- it's boring, and we're not allowed to wear jewelry at school, so she's the only one who always shows off..."

Eli's lips curled as he listened. "She's a bit of a show-off, then."

"Yeah! Petunia's spirits lifted and she didn't sound sleepy. "When we got back to the dorm, she was still saying, 'It was so loud, I had to take a book and read it in the hallway... But luckily, I was in the hallway, so I answered your call as soon as it came. I think we'd better make a firm appointment -- I find I have two evening classes a week this term, which is much busier than last year."

Ok. Eli nodded yes, then asked curiously, "What book are you reading?"

There was a sudden lag in Petunia's voice. "I was looking... HMM... History books, I suddenly found myself interested in history..."

"That's good." Eli didn't think much of it. Naturally, he said, "My dad teaches history. You can always ask him for advice.

"I will." "Whispered Petunia." If I get into Durham..."

'You want to go to Durham University? Eli asked unexpectedly. "History department? I hope you get what you want. My father will be very happy."

"Really? 'asked Petunia unconfidently, hesitating.' I'm not very clever, really... '

"He likes people who work hard." "Let's be realistic," Eli said. "It takes more than talent to study history. It takes an interest and perseverance to study the ancients in solitude -- come on, I'm sure you can."

"I hope so, too." 'said Petunia, sounding a little pleased.' No, I'm not going to talk to you, I need to read a few more pages... See you on the next call! Good night."

"Good night." Eli said breezily, hanging up the phone and looking over. It was even before curfew, and they didn't talk for long.

But Eli felt strangely at ease now, as if he had returned from the turbulent world of wizarding to normal life, as if the weight of things he was carrying had been temporarily pushed aside, and at last they no longer affected him so strongly.

It's like drinking a glass of milk before bed. Eli yawned, went back to his dorm, lay down on his bed, rolled over, and almost immediately fell asleep.