Chapter 278 - Wilkes Family (2/2)
Mr. Wilkes raises his wretched gaze from the floor and croaks, ”Greetings, Ogden. It is a pity that our first real interaction would be under such awful circumstances like these.”
”As am I,” Ogden truthfully said as he removed a vial filled with a clear, odorless liquid that looked just like water. ”I am sorry about this, but Auror Clements wishes to ensure that nothing else can be cast upon your already given testimonies.”
”It is perfectly understandable,” Mr. Wilkes quietly answered. ”Percius and I have been friends ever since Hogwarts. And I know it will call into question the entire ongoing investigation and would not just cost me and my family's already tarnished reputation, but that of Percius as well.”
”Will that hurt, mother and father?” A timid boy's voice suddenly interjected.
Ogden blinks and glances at the source to find a young boy roughly eight years old. The boy is dark-eyed like his mother with fine dark hair as his father. However, he has an almost waif-like nature due to his large doe-like eyes.
”No,” Ogden gently said to the second son of the Wilkes. ”Vertiaserum doesn't have any taste at all and will not hurt them.”
”Thank you,” the boy softly said. ”May I stay for the conversation?”
Ogden is about to answer, no, when Mr. Wilkes interrupted by saying, ”Allow him to remain, Ogden. There will be worse rumors going around and I do not wish for my second born to learn of the truth of his older brother via another. And I pray that he listens well and learns in order to not repeat his brother's foolish mistakes.”
Ogden slowly says, ”Very well-,” Ogden paused not knowing the boy's name.
”I am Silviu Wilkes, sir,” Silviu helpfully offered.
”Thank you,” Ogden said, before adding, ”However, you must remain absolutely silent during the entire duration of the questioning. Can you do that, Silviu?”
”Yes, sir,” Silviu solemnly declared. Unlike his older brother, Silviu was of a quieter disposition. That is not to say he was not cunning or loud at times, but simply much more tranquil than his older brother ever had been.
Certain that the second born of the Wilkes would remain silent, Ogden uncorked the vial and gestured for Mrs. Wilkes to open her mouth. Mrs. Wilkes does as she is told as Ogden carefully only lets three drops fall onto her tongue, before doing the same to Mrs. Wilkes.
Carefully, corking the vial up, Ogden asks, ”Will you both please state your names and describe the events that transpired this morning?” Sitting nearby is Auror Clements carefully transcribing the interrogation with quill and parchment. The only sound heard for a moment is the soft scratching of the quill against the parchment.
”I am Mercury Wilkes,” Mrs. Wilkes replied. ”I am the wife of Secundus Wilkes, and the mother of Spurius Roland Wilkes also known as S.R. Wilkes.”
Following promptly after, Mr. Wilkes says, ”I am Secundus Wilkes, the husband of Mercury Wilkes, and the once father of Spurius Roland Wilkes for that evil youth is no son of mine. He is of this very moment, from now forth and for all time, promptly stripped of his name, his inheritance, and his right to ever become the head of the Wilkes family. Spurius Roland Wilkes is forevermore banished from the Wilkes manor and all other properties, so mote be.”
A whirl of powerful magic can suddenly be felt before it erupts outward and disperses. Magic itself would register the change and the blood magic of the Wilkes family would remove said figure from their records, and the ability to access anything that pertained to the Wilkes family. The most terrible fate that could befall any pureblood is to be considered less than null and be stripped of their rightful inheritance and name.
Ogden slowly nods his head in full understanding knowing that said actions could not be faked. To remove a child via blood magic ensured that said descendant could never be accepted nor ever be allowed to return nor claim the right of the Wilkes surname. Unlike regular disinheritances, blood disinheritances could never be undone. They were permanent for all eternity, and to only be enacted under the most stringent of circumstances, (as to do increased the odds of a family potentially dying out without enough descendants to maintain the family line alive).