The Truth About Squibs

"Wonderful, I'll have some math and history booklets brought over so you can study them. In a week, I will give you a placement test. Muggle schools start around the same time as Hogwarts, thankfully, so that doesn't give us a lot of wiggle room," Archibald said, pleased. "There is another problem, though. Again, with your age."

"Is it my living arrangements?" I guessed, and the older Squib nodded.

"Yes, I'm afraid that is the case," he said, sounding apologetic. "Even for magical children, they need to live with a guardian of sorts, be it parents, god-parents, close relatives, or someone trusted and given legal rights over you."

"That doesn't sound fun," I grumbled. Privately, I thought, 'They'd stifle me, treat me condescendingly if I had to live with them until I came of age!'

"I suppose it wouldn't," he said, chuckling. "And to be honest, I fully understand where you are coming from. Most magical families wouldn't want to have a Squib around, and it can be tiresome living in a place where you feel unwanted. Trying to find a magical family in London who would treat you well while you rented a room from them would be difficult, and in all honestly not worth our time. However, there is a loophole for this matter. House Elves."

"House Elves?" I asked at the same time my mother said it.

"Yes, House Elves. Legally, a Squib cannot own a House Elf. This is because a Squib lacks the magic to maintain the bond. But, a House Elf can be appointed as a Keeper of sorts over a child. Many House Elves serve as nannies and raised children who'd been orphaned, so there is precedent, and as long as your mother gives your House Elf permission to watch over you, it would be possible for you to live on your own, Edward."

"Oh, wow, that's…" I stammered, surprised by this turn of events. This felt too good to be true! 'Where was this luck when I was growing up?'

"What would this entail, exactly?" my mother inquired, speaking for the first time.

"Nothing complex. You just buy or rent some property, then tell your House Elf to treat that space as an extension of this home. Additionally, tell them they are going to be Edward's custodian until he comes of age, and then sign a couple papers affirming this is what you want to happen. Oh, and a name change wouldn't hurt. I find that helps ease things through if the Squibs have a less magical sounding name."

"That seems quite easy-going, and not at all what I was expecting," my mother said, and I nodded alongside her, thinking over that last suggestion with interest.

"It is as easy as it seems, ma'am," Archibald assured her. "I think you are both forgetting one thing, which is making you overly suspicious."

"And what's that?" Wisteria Hunch demanded, raising an eyebrow at the attorney.

"Young Edward here is a Squib," Archibald said, his expression stern, but also empathetic. "The magical world doesn't care about him."

"Take that back!" my mother snapped, and he raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I'm not wrong," he replied evenly. "Legally, he has few rights. He can't inherit anything from you or the family, he cannot be employed by the Ministry, he cannot own property without permission from his head of household, and there are a hundred different rules and petty laws that shut him out of the magical world. The fact he's still allowed to use the Hunch name is a courtesy extended to him by you alone right now, as you are technically head of the household. But when his brother grows up and becomes the head of the household, he can cast young Edward out, taking his name back, so to speak."

Archibald sighed, and leaned back, while my mother's face turned pale. "It's cruel to say it, ma'am, but it's the truth. The magical side of things has decided they do not want Squibs, and so they honestly do not care what happens to him. Most parents would have obliviated him and dumped him at the nearest orphanage by now. That you haven't shows you are a better person than most witches and wizards. The small amount of paperwork on your side of things is just a symptom of that reality."

"I-Is it really that bad out there for Squibs?" My mother asked, and both Archibald and I grimaced at her naivety.

'How has she not seen this before?' I wondered, feeling a hint of disgust and betrayal at her blindness well up within me. 'Did she think father's beatings were just because he was a drunk, and not to do with my lack of magic? She cannot be this oblivious, can she?'

But, then again, that summed up magical folk in a nutshell. Blind to what was right in front of them.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm afraid it is," Archibald said with a shake of his head. "It's getting late. I'll have the paperwork owled to you tomorrow morning Mrs. Hunch, along with some of the workbooks I want Edward to go over so I can see what his educational level is."

"Yes, of course, thank you for all your help," my mother said. She went over to the fireplace and tossed a handful of dark green powder into the crackling flames, which immediately turned a vivid, emerald green.