Ari washed and took his usual seat at the Shabbos table. After being given a slice of challah, he took a bite and sat quietly. He eyed the fish on the table, but didn't reach for anything.

"Ari got his Hogwarts letter this week," Tatti told Oma.

"I don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari grumbled.

"I wish I got to go to a school like Hogwarts," Oma said. "In Germany, Jews weren't allowed to attend magical schools. All the Jewish magicals kept to themselves for safety reasons."

"You mean there are more of us?" Ari asked curiously.

"Not in Europe," Oma said. "Did you learn in Navi about when Shaul Hamelech killed all the witches?"

"He accidently left one alive," Ari remembered. "But then he used the witch's services when he wanted to talk to Shmuel after he died."

"Shaul Hamelech left one Jewish witch alive," Oma agreed. "She married someone who is not magical, also known as a muggle, and had two kids. Her oldest married a muggle. Her second child married the child of her oldest."

"That's strange," Ari said.

"You have to understand that they were trying to keep magic a secret," Oma said. "They didn't want to get killed. After that, they kept a record of every child born in the family, and everyone married cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, or nephews. As the family grew, the cousins became more distant, making marriage easier, but the family always stayed together for safety. When the Romans destroyed the Bais Hamikdash, all the magicals were sold as slaves in what is now Germany. They all used their magic to gain freedom, and lived together in a big house on a hill. They occasionally rescued other Jews who they saw suffering, but made sure to wipe their memories after so that they won't know they were saved with magic."

"In the 1400s, the Jewish magicals were still living in the big house on the hill. As the families grew, so did the house. It separated into separate parts to give each family their own space. People made sure to keep track of every birth and marriage in order to know how you were related to your spouse before marriage. Parents taught their children whatever magic they knew. Often, for fun, they tried charms out on the house itself, giving children the opportunity to really practice their magic. One day, someone decided to turn the outside of the house into gold stone. The muggles, both Jewish and not Jewish, always talked about the gold house on the hill. Our people kept to themselves to avoid persecution. When last names started, it was decided that everyone living in the gold stone house will use the last name Goldstein, which means gold stone."

"In 1850, the first of the magical Goldsteins decided to move to America. They felt crowded in the spacious mansions and wanted to mingle with people they weren't related to. All the other Goldsteins protested and said it will be hard to keep track of the Jewish magicals if they leave, but they left anyway. They said that in America, Jews could go to the same magical schools and not Jewish people. They wrote whenever there was a birth or marriage so we could keep up the records. In 1870, another Goldstein family decided to leave. The same thing happened in 1890, 1910, and 1930. Those of us who stayed knew that the Goldsteins in America did not only marry Jews so not all their children were Jewish. We were bothered by the assimilation and intermarriage and felt we were doing the right thing by staying in Germany.

"In 1933, Hitler became powerful in Germany. It was no secret that he didn't like Jews. In April of 1933, Jews were no longer allowed to work at many jobs. My parents and Opa's parents wanted to help the struggling Jews in the nearby cities, but the rest of the Goldsteins felt it wasn't safe. In 1935, Jewish patients were not allowed in German hospitals. My parents and some of the others offered to heal people secretly, but made sure they didn't know they were being healed with magic."

"On November 9th 1938, the Germans went crazy. They were looting and destroying Jewish homes and businesses and killing random Jews. Most of the Goldsteins portkeyed to America as soon as things got bad. The only ones who stayed were me, my parents, opa, and his parents. We casted protective spells on as many Jewish houses, businesses, and shuls as we could, and for the first time since Shaul ordered our destruction, we contacted a Jewish rabbi. We told him that we're from the gold house on the hill and we're the only ones left; that everyone else fled. We said we could duplicate exit visa for anyone who has and that once we find a safe place, we could bring people there undetected. We told him that we need a way to communicate with all the rabbis in Europe so that we could get to places when the danger is occurring. He gave us a list of all the Jewish communities he knew about, and wrote us letters of recommendation. We made up a secret way of contacting each other using magic notebooks. Anything any of the rabbis wrote in their notebooks would show up in my parents' and in-laws' notebooks. They looked for a safe community that wasn't too populated and finally chose Edinburgh. What they didn't realize was that they would be called to different places the same time, and obviously couldn't help everyone."

"At first, the Nazis would go to a Jewish community, round everyone up, have them dig a big hole, and shoot all the Jews so they would die in the grave they dug themselves. Whenever we got a message from a Jewish community going through that, we each had our jobs. I was the one who distracted the Nazis. Your grandfather would explain to people that we were here to save them, while our parents would bring ten people at a time to Edinburgh. They used a portkey, but modified everyone's memories so they would think they travelled by submarine. Unfortunately, we didn't get to every community on time, and may Jews were killed."

"The Nazis didn't like this method and decided to switch to concentration camps. Whenever we got a message about a roundup, we did the same thing, but it was much harder now. Everyone besides me made themselves invisible first. I had to be visible to distract the Nazis. Many Rabbis did not believe us or did not want to rely on kishuf to be saved, while many others called us too late, but we saved whoever we can. It still wasn't enough. Once all the remaining Jews were in concentration camps, my parents and in-laws stationed themselves in Auschwitz, while Opa and I remained in Edinburgh with the people who were rescued. Every so often, we would find ten almost dead bodies in our living room and would try every healing spell we knew to save the people my parents rescued. And still, the Nazis killed six million Jews."

"We were shocked when your father got his Hogwarts letter. Like you, we didn't think a school of magic was a good setting for a Jewish boy. But one thing we learned during the holocaust is that we need our rabbis. Rabbi Kohn's father was the first rabbi we contacted back in Germany. It was only logical that we discussed our dilemma with him. He said to send your father to Hogwarts; that maybe if we knew more magic, more Jews would be saved."

"Your father learned many spells that we never learned. He made sure to teach them to us so we will be prepared if there's another war. Opa died before you were born. My parents and Opa's parents died many years before that. They were never the same after their time in Auschwitz. It could be that if we had magical schooling we would have made more of a difference."

"There are only three Jewish magical people left in Europe: myself, you, and your father. I'm not going to live forever. It's crucial that you learn whatever defensive magic you can, because if there's ever another Hitler, it will be your job to defend the Jewish people."

"I still don't want to go to Hogwarts," Ari said quietly.

"I know," Oma said. "But you will go anyway and learn all that you can."

Ari was quiet the rest of the meal.