Chapter 9: Family Night Talk

After escorting his already asleep sister back to her bedroom, Bell made his way to another small dining room in the castle. William and Eleana were already waiting for him there.

"Bell, did you have fun tonight?" William asked with a smile.

Bell thought for a moment. Although initially exhausted from greeting dozens of adults, he found it quite interesting listening to a group of young wizards boasting, so he replied, "Yes, I did."

William chuckled happily. "That's good to hear. I called you here tonight to introduce you to the family's situation. After all, the future of the family will eventually be in your hands. So, although it's a bit early, I think it's necessary to give you a general understanding of our family."

"You've seen the wizards who attended today. Each one of them holds significant positions in the magical world, not only in Britain but also in other countries. And today, they all attended our family's banquet upon my invitation. Bell, this is proof of our family's strength. The Minashel family has a history of over a thousand years and is one of the oldest existing families in the wizarding world. Even during the reign of the 'mysterious man' a few years ago, they dared not to violate our family freely."

With pride, William introduced the family's splendor to his son.

"Um, about that..."

Seeing his father's proud expression, Bell felt a little embarrassed to speak. But it was just a little bit.

"According to the records I've seen, it seems that what Dad said is somewhat different?"

William's laughter abruptly stopped.

"The records you've seen? Where did you see these records?"

"Of course, I asked Lym to find the records, probably from the library?"

Bell remembered the library he had just learned about a few days ago.

That night when he returned from Diagon Alley, Bell found his mother to see the family's library. It exceeded his expectations; he forgot there was a spell called 'Traceless Extension Charm', so the library was much larger than it appeared from the outside.

Bell also learned from Eleana that all pure-blood wizard families would establish a family library. Some families would only include valuable or unique magical knowledge, while others, like the Minashel family, would preserve all the magical knowledge they could collect.

"A while ago, I was interested in our family's situation, so I asked Lym to find all the records about the family. According to the records, our family's documented history is only over 500 years, and the origin of the family is also unclear. Compared to ancient families with documented histories like the Black family and the Gaunt family, our family doesn't seem that ancient?"

"And no pure-blood family dares to provoke us."

"As far as I know, unless they explicitly oppose him, the mysterious man won't specifically target pure-blood families. After all, no matter how powerful he is, he is just one person, and one person cannot rule the wizarding world. Pure-blood families are the foundation of his power and rule. Although the mysterious man's mentality is a bit abnormal, it doesn't mean he's stupid. So, I think there's nothing to be proud of in our family not being attacked by the mysterious man. Not doing something doesn't mean we don't dare to do it. In fact, he could wipe us out at any time."

Ignoring William's pale face and the cold sweat dripping from his forehead, Bell blurted out all the information he had learned.

"Am I right, Mom?"

"Exactly, dear. Don't listen to your father's nonsense."

Eleana rolled her eyes at William. She herself didn't agree with telling Bell too much about the family's affairs. Bell was only 5 years old, and it was too early to talk about these things.

The wine had given William a bit of courage today; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to say these things in front of his wife. Moreover, what surprised Eleana even more was that William actually mentioned those false pieces of information!

Those were fabricated to deceive outsiders. After all, the records within other families wouldn't detail the Minashel family's situation. Besides, those events were hundreds of years ago, so even if they were questioned, they could just say it was a mistake in the other family's records.

Eleana was now eager to kick William a few times. 

"Well... Bell, don't worry. Our family still holds a significant position in the British wizarding world, and a shorter history doesn't mean much."

William tried to salvage his dignity as a father. Being caught in a lie, especially by his own son, was so embarrassing! Was there a hole he could crawl into?

"Moreover, even those families slightly stronger than us wouldn't harm us for no reason."

"Dad, I've always believed that placing hopes on enemies is foolish behavior."

Bell said calmly, taking a sip of tea from the table and leaning back with a demeanor of a boss. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was the father and William was the son.

Looking at William, who was speechless, Bell continued, "And as far as I know, our family is only slightly above the middle in the British wizarding world. Not to mention on a global scale."

"Um..."

Thinking he would show off the family's splendor to his son, William didn't expect Bell to be so knowledgeable about the family's current situation. Was this something a child of his age would know? William felt like crying.

Actually, Bell had always been thinking about the family's current situation and future. After all, even without considering the help to his own magical studies, a stronger family meant a safer environment for Shanna.

"We should have a lot of Galleons, right?"

"Of course!"

William regained some confidence.

"Our family's underground vault at Gringotts is filled with Galleons and various treasures."

"But we don't use them, do we?"

Bell remained indifferent, not seeing any pride in it.

"So, whether the vault is filled with Galleons or dirt, does it make any difference? They are both worthless."

William choked again.

"How can there be no difference? Those are Galleons! Galleons that can buy anything!"

"No, Galleons can't buy anything. They can only buy what they can buy. And those things, as long as you have Galleons, anyone can buy them."

Bell stared at his father seriously.

"Dad, we are wizards, not Muggles. The only thing that can make us stronger is magic. If Galleons can't help us obtain stronger magic, then they are worthless."

"No, no, Bell. For wizarding families, Galleons are essential. Only by having enough Galleons can our family continue to pass down."