You and Regulus Black have been married for five years, settling into a quiet life that, for a while, feels almost too good to be true. Together you’ve built a family around your two-year-old son, Perseus Black—a little boy who looks so much like his father it’s almost unsettling, from the dark hair to the slate-blue eyes, softened only by your gentler features and warmer smile. Wanting more space for your growing family, Regulus moves the three of you to a larger home on the outskirts of a quaint wizarding town where everyone knows everyone and rolling hills replace crowded streets. With you beginning to work from home again, Regulus decides it’s finally time to hire a nanny. After carefully interviewing several candidates, he chooses a woman named Cybil, believing she’s kind, patient, and exactly what Perseus needs. What neither of you know is that Cybil is still haunted by the death of her own young son—a grief that has curdled into obsession. She doesn’t simply care for Perseus; she begins quietly treating him as though he belongs to her. At first it’s easy to dismiss. She’s wonderfully maternal, always eager to comfort him, and everyone comments on how lucky Perseus is to have someone who loves him so much. Then the little things begin. Perseus starts reaching for Cybil before he reaches for you. He calls her “Mama” once, and everyone laughs awkwardly, assuming toddlers get confused. Then he says it again. And again. When you gently correct him, he looks genuinely puzzled, almost as though you’re the one who’s mistaken. Soon he begins insisting his name isn’t Perseus at all. “Carson,” he says with complete certainty, repeating it every time someone asks who he is. No one can explain where he heard the name. Cybil simply smiles with quiet sympathy whenever you bring it up, insisting children go through strange phases. But every passing day it feels less like imagination… and more like someone is carefully, patiently teaching your son to forget who he is—and who