Harry Potter and the Secret Treasures - H.P.S.T Chapter 1606: Ariana's Story

“Just like Auntie Muriel said, Dumbledore’s mother imprisoned Ariana just because she was a Squib?” Harry asked. His mood seemed to darken further as he read the article. He stared at the newspaper photograph of the apparently happy Dumbledore family, unable to believe any of it was true.

“There’s no denying Kendra did that,” said Evan. “But it wasn’t to imprison Ariana — it was to protect her.”

“Protect her?” Harry looked at Evan in disbelief and raised his voice. “Locking up a seven-year-old girl is protection?!”

“Yeah, because Ariana wasn’t a Squib who couldn’t use magic, she was an Obscurial.”

“What’s the difference! And what’s an Obscurial?” Harry asked.

“‘Obscurial,’ like wizard, Muggle, or Squib, is just another way of classifying people by their relationship to magic,” Evan explained patiently. “When a young wizard’s mind suffers severe trauma, they lose control of their magic. In that moment, a Dark magical force can slip in, take root inside the child’s mind, and dwell there. This dark force is powerful and evil. Wizards who know of it call it an Obscurus. You can think of it as a Dark parasitical magical force, Harry.”

“Obscurus…” Harry repeated softly, as though struggling to convince himself to accept the idea.

“My guess is that the Obscurus is related to the evil gods. It’s a creation of the evil gods, just like the Dementors,” said Evan. “Of course, no wizard actually knows that. The Wizarding world has not yet figured out its true origin. They generally regard the Obscurus as a Dark, free-roaming energy being.”

“You mean, an Obscurus inhabited Ariana, making her an Obscurial, not a Squib.” said Harry slowly. “Ariana was controlled by the evil god?! That sounds incredible!”

“It does sound incredible, but it’s the truth. Rita Skeeter’s article never explained why Dumbledore’s father, Percival, tried to kill those three Muggle boys. Or perhaps she mentioned it only in passing,” said Evan. “You can look into it, Harry — it’s an important part of the story. From what I know, when Ariana was young, she accidentally used magic in front of those Muggles. They attacked her horribly, and the trauma shattered her mind. From then on, she lost control of her magic. It turned inward and drove her mad. In truth, she became an Obscurial.”

“But even so, why would the Dumbledores keep her locked away? Shouldn’t they have taken Ariana to St. Mungo’s for treatment?”   

“There’s no cure. Until now, wizards have believed that Obscurials are ominous and bring disaster and misfortune. After discovering and confirming an Obscurial, the Ministry usually kills them to prevent Dark wizards with sinister motives from using them for evil,” said Evan. “Obscurials are rare, and their power is immense — greater than that of most wizards. When the host wizard’s emotions swing violently, the Obscurus inside them will awaken. We call this an ‘Awakening.’ In that state, the Obscurial becomes a dark, bodiless cloud of smoke, with devastating destructive power. If they never release their magic, the Obscurus will eventually turn on the host, take over their body, and spiral out of control, bringing catastrophe.

“The ultimate goal of the Obscurus is to control the Obscurial to summon evil gods and let them descend into this world, but so far, no Obscurus has succeeded, because their power is too dark and powerful, far beyond the limit that the human body can withstand. Every burst of magic is extremely harmful to the host,” Evan continued. “That’s also why Obscurials are usually children, and why they rarely live long. In fact, most of them don’t survive past the age of ten.”

“But Ariana lived past ten!” Harry quickly seized on the flaw in Evan’s words. “I remember she was killed after Dumbledore had already graduated.”

“Yes, and that’s the best proof of how carefully the Dumbledores tended her, rather than imprisoning and abusing her as people believed. They guarded her emotions and her magic, never letting the Obscurus inside her awaken. That was the best way to protect her. To outsiders, Ariana may have seemed like a Squib, locked away and never allowed to meet anyone. But that was far better than her being provoked, awakening the Obscurus, and unleashing terrible destruction — don’t you think?” said Evan. “Because of Kendra Dumbledore’s careful protection, Ariana was able to live past ten. If not for the accident, she could have lived on.

“As for that accident — well, that’s another one of Rita Skeeter’s sensational claims!” Before Harry could ask, Evan went on. “Even though the Obscurus inside Ariana had never fully awakened, it constantly affected her. The slightest stir in her emotions could set off violent magical surges. Around the time Dumbledore was about to graduate from Hogwarts, one such surge caused Ariana to accidentally kill her mother! Yes — Kendra died for that reason. You can investigate this, or ask Bathilda Bagshot. She should know something about it.

“After Kendra’s death, Dumbledore, who had already graduated from school, began to take care of Ariana,” said Evan. “But he was unwilling to let his time and life be consumed by this. Though Dumbledore loved his sister dearly, he was also a brilliant wizard, and like every young wizard, he had his own dreams and ambitions. He longed to achieve something great, yet he was forced to remain at home. That went on until the day he met Gellert Grindelwald.”

“Gellert Grindelwald?! You mean the Dark wizard Dumbledore defeated?” Harry asked. “At the wedding yesterday, Krum mentioned him too. He said many of his relatives and friends were killed by Grindelwald. He also said that strange triangular symbol Mr. Lovegood wore was Grindelwald’s mark. The two of them nearly started a fight over it.”

“That symbol represents the three Deathly Hallows, Harry, three extraordinary magical items said to be gifts from Death itself. Whoever gathers all three is said to conquer death. Grindelwald was obsessed with them. He went to Godric’s Hollow for that very reason,” Evan explained. “Remember, we discussed the Deathly Hallows before. If you want to know more, you can read the Tales of Beedle the Bard Dumbledore left to Hermione. It contains the legend of the Three Brothers, which tells of the Hallows. But that’s not what we’re focusing on now; let’s return to Dumbledore’s past. Whether Grindelwald found any leads on the Hallows in Godric’s Hollow, we don’t know. But what is certain is that he met the young Dumbledore there. Two brilliant wizards, both with an extraordinary grasp of magic, both filled with the same lofty ideals and ambitions — once they encountered each other, it was only natural they would find themselves in perfect accord.”

Translating_Wizard

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