The McDougal Family

The snow outside had stopped in the early morning. Isobel had just woken up and, feeling a bit chilly in the room, burrowed her head back under the covers. Faint noises drifted from the kitchen downstairs. The girl sighed softly, quickly got up, dressed, and went downstairs to help make breakfast.

"Mom, aren't you going to work at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries today?" The red-haired girl, dressed in her pajamas, walked into the kitchen and asked Mrs. McDougal was busily preparing breakfast.

"Darling, it's your birthday today." Mrs. McDougal gestured for her daughter to wait a moment. "So, I took half a day off to make you a nice breakfast."

"The beef is going to burn!" Katrina warned as she came downstairs, noticing a faint smell of burning.

"I'll do it!" Isobel sighed, drew her wand, and took over the cooking duties from Mrs. McDougal.

Perhaps there's a saying that's true: everyone has their own strengths. Their mother, aside from her exceptional talent in healing, always manages to make a mess of everything else, even her culinary magic, which she's practiced for a long time, still leaves her unable to skillfully cook delicious food.

Who would have thought that the renowned Director of the Charm Injury Department at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries would be utterly incompetent in everything except treatment!

"Oh, well!" Mrs. McDougal was a little disappointed, but quickly cheered up. "By the way, I just counted the gifts, and you received fifteen birthday presents this year."

"Okay, Mom, I think we can open the birthday presents after breakfast." Isobel used his wand to guide the beef in the frying pan, skillfully plating it. Katrina used cooking magic to fry eggs and sausages, and also made a vegetable salad with tomatoes and other vegetables. Her cooking magic was not as skillful as Isobel's, and she needed to keep a close eye on the food while cooking.

"Good morning, Dad," Isobel greeted softly, glancing at the photograph of the young man beside her. The man in the photo was smiling at them.

"Katrina's Family Magic has improved a lot!" Mrs. McDougal didn't hold back her praise, even though she had almost no talent for cooking.

"I've been practicing all along," Katrina said. In fact, she helps with housework at home, as their mother is busy at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

During breakfast, the McDougal family chatted about some interesting things that happened at school. In fact, Mrs. McDougal had always felt very reassured about the two sisters.

After having breakfast together, it was time to open Isobel's birthday presents. Most of them were ordinary little gifts from the Ravenclaw students. If we were to say whose gift was the most special, it would be the latest edition of the Runes given by Uncle Morg.

"I don't think many people at Hogwarts can understand this book!" Katrina took the Runes, flipped through a few pages, and couldn't help but complain.

Although she had studied some Ancient Runes, they were not Katrina's forte.

"Someone will eventually be able to understand it." Isobel calmly put away the Runes.

"Is Robert Hilliard pursuing you?" Katrina glanced at the sender of the package, tilted her head, and asked Isobel.

"Why do you say that?" Isobel countered.

"Just a gut feeling," Katrina said, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the beautiful white gloves. "He has a good eye."

"What kind of child was he?" Mrs. McDougal asked curiously.

"I didn't notice, what's wrong?" Isobel handed the opened package to Katrina. "If you like it, it's yours."

"Never mind," Katrina said, deciding against it. After all, it was Robert's gift, and if she took it, the poor guy would probably cry himself to sleep in the bathroom.

"Thank you, the hat is very nice!" Isobel put the black wizard hat on his head. The hat had a bright Erumpent's tail feather on it, which made it look elegant and was very suitable for wearing to a banquet.

"You're welcome," Katrina laughed. "Anyway, it's not like I'm paying."

Mrs. McDougal looked at her two daughters and always felt that they were hiding something from her.

"Huh, Albert actually sent you a birthday present?" Katrina was quite surprised when she saw the signature on the package.

"Last time, I traded a Charms for this with him." Isobel opened the package and was stunned when he saw what was inside.

"What is this, a wood carving?" Katrina asked, puzzled. "But it looks quite small."

"Amulet?" Mrs. McDougal looked at the wooden unicorn carving, somewhat surprised to see such an exquisitely crafted amulet.

"Amulet? Oh right, there's a card inside too." Katrina reached out and picked up the card, handing it to Isobel.

Isobel glanced at the card and handed it back to Katrina.

"May I read it aloud?"

"Okay, read it!"

"May it help you get through the misfortune that is coming— Albert Anderson."

"Misfortune? What misfortune?" Katrina was even more confused. Had something happened between them? Isobel briefly explained the matter of the Rune Stone Divination last time.

"Although I don't want to speak ill of Professor Trelawney in private, many people say she's a fraud. You know, Divination requires talent, and Professor Trelawney clearly doesn't have any." Katrina obviously didn't believe in Professor Trelawney's Divination.

"There seems to be something engraved on it." Mrs. McDougal took the amulet, examined it carefully, and commented, "I dare say this kind of amulet must be very expensive. You know, the stuff sold on the market is all fake."

"This stuff works?" Katrina asked, half-believing.

"It should work. By the way, it was actually carved from Mandrakes."

As a healer, Mrs. McDougal was also very skilled at concocting Potions and quickly recognized what kind of wood was used to carve the amulet.

"Is that the Mandrakes?" Katrina suddenly remembered something. It seemed that a Mandrakes had been stolen from the Hogwarts greenhouse. Could it be...?

"This requires mature Mandrakes to carve, and the Mandrakes at the school aren't mature yet," Isobel reminded her, as if she had read her sister's mind.

"Also, this amulet was probably made by Anderson himself; he's very skilled in Runes and alchemy," Isobel explained, pointing to the Ancient Runes carved on it. "As for the price, it's definitely not as expensive as your hat."

"Albert Anderson? I think I saw his name in 'The Practical Potioneer' a while ago." Mrs. McDougal suddenly remembered where she had heard the name before. "It is said that Anderson is a Potion Genius, and his improved Potions are highly praised by Mr. Dagworth."

"That guy is indeed a genius," Isobel readily admitted. "However, you'd probably have to ask Katrina for the specifics; they were in the same year."

"That Mr. Anderson was in the same class as Katrina?" Mrs. McDougal's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes, he's in the same year as me and is a recognized Genius Wizard in the school. Many people think he will be the next Dumbledore." Katrina hesitated for a moment before saying, "In fact, he has already published papers in quite a few academic journals."