The talk
2086


They landed at the end of the street under a lamp and Kevin was glad that no one was outside when they materialised. He didn’t want to get in to more trouble than he was in right now. His father pushed the trolley like a muggle towards their apartment and he instructed his son to go up. Kevin looked at his luggage and tried to grab one when his hand was hit. “I’ll take care of this, you go straight to your room when you get home, understood?” his tone was strict and Kevin could only nod.

He pushed the button on the elevator door and stepped inside. Their apartment was on the third floor of the flat building. Although it looked small, it was magically larger on the inside so that it looked like a small mansion with spaced rooms. And as a pure-blooded family they rarely had muggles over. As the doors of the elevator closed he took notice of his reflection for the first time. Red teary eyes stared back at him and his hair was a mess. He tried to do something about his hair but the elevator already arrived at the floor and he sighed.

As he opened the door to his apartment he was greeted by the smell of food inside of the kitchen. His mother was making something to eat despite the late hour. His stomach growled at the smell because even though he had eaten candy in the train he was still hungry. But his father’s instruction had been clear and he didn’t want to face his mother just yet so he slipped in the next room and entered his bedroom.

The room looked different. He noticed it the moment he had shut the door behind him. His posters of his favourite quidditch team were gone. He walked to his desk and opened his drawer. His parents had taken his comic books as well. They had taken away everything that could distract him and he fell down on the bed on his stomach.

He heard his father enter the house after a while and he turned on to his back to listen better. Although their voices were muffled by the walls, he could still hear bits of conversations. Apparently they were going to eat dinner after the talk and he could hear his mother saying that he needed to eat as well. But his father told her no and that this was a punishment. Being expelled did not gave you the right to eat a normal dinner.

The talk. Kevin was afraid of this and wanted to avoid it but he knew there was no turning around it. No way of avoiding it at all. He tensed up as he heard his father’s harsh voice calling him. “Kenji Hirase, get in here right now!” He took a deep shaky breath. With all the trouble he had been in , he knew this was going to be the worst talk ever. Even worse than when the muggle cops had bought him home after he had stolen a couple of items at the local store.

Leaving his bedroom, Kevin shuffled towards the main living room. He was an only child so when he entered the room he only saw his mother and father. His mother, a beautiful woman in his opinion sat in the armchair near the window. The curtains were closed and a fire was set in the fire place. Her eyes looked like his in the sense that she probably had been crying as well. Kevin then looked at his father who wasn’t seated down. He was standing in front of the fireplace with his hands behind his back as he paced back and forward. He stopped pacing when his son had entered the room and his eyes narrowed.

Kevin gulped and lowered his eyes at the glare. His father motioned at the pillow on the ground and told him to sit on it. The pillow was in the middle of the room and without saying a word, Kevin walked over to it. He knew what was going to happen, he had sat here before. He was going to get scolded and wasn’t allowed to say anything back. He sat with his knees on the pillow and placed his hands on his legs. He hadn’t looked up yet.

“I can’t believe the kind of stunt you pulled off now” His father began. His voice was calm but Kevin could hear the hidden anger inside of it. He pulled out a letter and waved it. Kevin knew that it was a letter because he could hear the unmistakable sound of paper flapping. “This arrived a few hours ago. A letter from your Headmistress about your expulsion” he slammed the paper in front of him on the ground and Kevin was forced to either look at the letter or his father now. He choose the first one because it was less scary. If the Professors thought they could scare him they were sadly mistaken. They couldn’t even get on his father’s level. “Do you have any idea what you have done? You destroyed your future, Kenji!”

“But i…” it had been a mistake to open his mouth. He knew it a second after he did it. “No buts! I can’t believe you! Attacking an Professor when he has his back turned?! I should call the Ministry this instant and have them lock you in up in Azkaban “ Kevin’s heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened. His father wouldn’t really do that right? His mother was thinking the same thing because she stood up from her seat and to his surprise she stood next to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder in comfort. “We are not sending our son to Azkaban” she said firmly and Kevin looked up to see his father’s eyes soften just a little. “You’re right , love. We are not heartless idiots like someone in this room” ouch. That hurt. He felt the hand of his mother squeeze his shoulder to assure him that this would all be over soon and that they would go back to normal.

Not for him though. What was he supposed to do now? He didn’t have an education. No friends except for Zander. Boy, was he glad he still had the two-way mirror. The hand left him but his mother did not leave his side. He loved her for this. She had never given up on him no matter how fast and hard he fell. It was time to crawl back up from this point. But how? “You will be grounded till we say so. You are not allowed to leave the house unless we say so. No friends” ‘what friends?’ Kevin thought. The only friend he had was Zander and he was at Hogwarts. “can come over and I’m sure even you have observed that your comic books are gone” his father didn’t wait for a reply and continued “You will be working around the house each day and you will not complain even once , understood? “ Kevin nodded his head. “Speak up, boy!” Kevin’s hands turned in to fists for a second but then he relaxed them “Yes father” he was glad his voice sounded confident and his father seemed pleased. “Alright, go to your room”

“But I haven’t eaten y---“ Another mistake. His father flared up again as he towered over his son. “You should have thought about that before getting yourself expelled! You could have eaten in the Great Hall! You did this to yourself. Now stop your whining and go to your room!” He looked at his mother who looked at him in pity but didn’t say anything. Despite her more softer approach she still agreed with him. He stood up and then picked up the pillow and placed it on the couch.

“…..Goodnight “ he mumbled. His father ignored him but his mother send him a good night wish as well. When he got back in to his room he dropped down on the bed. He was angry. Not just at the school but also himself. How could he have been so stupid?! A part of him didn’t care and another part did. He had wanted to become a potioneer. Had wanted to go an university after Hogwarts and now his dream was shattered. He punched the pillow a couple of times, wanting to hit the wall but knew that his parents would give him more punishment if he did, before shutting his eyes.