Login

Witch Weekly · June 17, 2018 – 2:34 PM

Could The Fog Turn Your Child Into A Squib?
All of Irvingly and now much of Hogsmeade is now encompassed in the mysterious thick, dusty fog which suppresses the use of magic. The Ministry has been notably silent on what they have done so far to combat or contain it, likely to prevent causing a panic, but our reporters spoke to an expert in the field, Professor William Somersby, to get his opinion on the exact effects. Our readers may be surprised to hear that the fog does not only prevent the use of magic within the effected areas, but actively eats magical energy!

Professor Somersby has not had the leisure to study the effects of the fog first-hand, as he lives in a remote villa in the South of Exeter, but stated that this was the only obvious conclusion given the pattern of growth displayed. "The fog started off in Salem Square, where it would have had nearly no exposure to magic itself, and only very limited exposure to magical persons, compared to a village like Hogsmeade," he pointed out. "And in its early days, it was growing much more slowly. By the time it had encompassed Irvingly, it had the whole magical community there to feed upon, its growth was exponential, and it took only five days to reach Hogsmeade — which, as anyone who was around during the time of the Hogsmeade Trail can attest to, is a considerable distance."

The professor has devoted his life to studying the intrinsic magical abilities within witches and wizards, and in particular what leads to the phenomenon of Muggleborn magic-users and squibs from otherwise magical families. He is considered an expert in this highly specialized field.

When asked whether there was a danger to witches and wizards staying within the fog's affected area, the professor said the danger is negligible. "Any adult wizard has the discipline to keep their magical abilities in check — this is one of the fundamental reasons we encourage even the most impoverished citizens to attend some amount of schooling at Hogwarts. For this reason, there is unlikely to be any significant, long-term effect once they leave the fogged area. For children, however, who have not yet learned to control all of their magical impulses — and particularly those young enough to have not yet displayed their first signs of magic or bought their first wand — the risk is much larger."

Could keeping your young children in Hogsmeade throughout the course of the fog result in their later becoming squibs? Without more study, it is impossible to say how much exposure to the magic-stealing fog will prove too much. The 'tolerance level' of how much fog your child can withstand may also be different for each individual, cautions the professor — which means for some of our readers, it may already be too late to remove your child from its effects.

Given this information, one must consider why the Ministry has been so silent on the nature of the fog and its exact effects. Wouldn't it be more prudent to organize some sort of evacuation or quarantine for magical children in the affected areas, or does the Ministry really care so little about the fates of our youngest citizens? Or perhaps something even more sinister is at work — could someone in the Ministry have a reason to want an entire generation of squibs?

An artist's rendition of a child's first act of magic — seen in Hogsmeade for the last time?

Could your darling child end up loveless and lonely like Miss Nimiane Bellchant?

Get Featured in Witch Weekly! | Submit an article!

PMs on this account will not be checked.
Please contact a member of the Wench team for more information:
MJ | Lynn | Olive | Kit | Dante

Welcome to Charming

Issue #184 - Could The Fog Turn Your Child Into A Squib?