Death-Seeking Cat

Albert didn't Prophecy the winning lottery numbers, but he Prophecy what he would write in his notebook two days later, so... he won.

Although the prize money was only a few hundred pounds, the experiment was undoubtedly a success.

The money was used for Anderson family dinner to celebrate Nia starting at Casterton Middle School.

Ever since that incident, Daisy has been giving her son strange looks.

Herb was disappointed when he found out; after years of work, his efforts might not even amount to a single lottery ticket from Albert. It was fortunate they both loved the legal profession; otherwise, they probably would have quit and let Albert Prophecy a big win instead.

For the remainder of the summer vacation, Albert stayed at home doing his holiday homework. Because he was doing the same things every day, he felt that time was passing by very quickly.

On the last night of August, Albert was packing his luggage in his room when there was a knock on the door. When the door was opened, Tom was trying to squeeze in through the crack.

"Mom asked me to give this to you."

As she spoke, Nia placed a bag of candy next to her suitcase, then plopped down on the bed, watching Albert busily packing. She seemed about to say something, but then remained silent.

"When you get to Casterton Middle School, remember to make some good friends, so you don't get bullied," Albert instructed without looking up.

"I've also studied Karate," Nia reminded her.

"Learning that isn't about getting into fights." Albert pushed Tom aside, who was leaning in, and turned to look at Nia, saying, "Girls shouldn't be so violent, or people will dislike them."

"Then why did you learn Karate?" Nia pouted in dissatisfaction. She hadn't forgotten that someone had taken down several unlucky guys back in school.

"I learned Karate!" Albert replied without hesitation, "So that people would talk to me calmly!"

"Quibble!"

"When the other person can't beat me, do you think they'd rather get beaten up or reason with me?" Albert popped a candy into his mouth and said to Nia with a smile, "By the way, there's something you need to remember."

"What's up?"

"Don't flaunt what I've given you. Ordinary people are terrified of magic, and they might even do something irrational," Albert earnestly reminded him. "You should learn to protect yourself."

"You're even more nagging than Mom."

"Oh, right, this is for you." Albert ignored her complaint and handed Nia a garnet pendant.

This is an amulet that he and Nicholas tried to make together when he visited Nicholas. Incidentally, the garnet was provided by Nicholas as a favor.

He was quite satisfied with the finished product he had created in collaboration with Albert; the two of them had cast powerful Protective Magic on the amulet.

"Another amulet?"

Nia took the amulet and looked it over; she thought it was more like a work of art.

"The amulets I gave you before have all lost their effectiveness. This one you have should last longer. I made it for you after consulting with Mr. Nicolas Flamel."

"You carved this?" Nia asked incredulously.

The pendant is Phoenix rising from the ashes, the kind that's very delicate, and it looks really beautiful with the red garnet.

"Otherwise what? Your brother is very talented, I really don't know why Mom is always worried that I won't be able to find a job." Albert nagged, "Remember, don't mention magic to anyone, and I'll have the family forward your letters from now on."

"Okay." Nia took the necklace and ran downstairs quickly to share her gift with Daisy.

Albert shook his head.

The next day, Albert got up very early.

It took him a long time to convince Tom to stay in the cage.

Despite his previous experience on the trip, Tom still didn't want to be locked up.

After Herb loaded the suitcase into the car, the family set off for King's Cross Station. They arrived at the station safely before 10:00 AM.

Herb helped unload the suitcase onto the cart, while Albert was saying his final goodbyes to his family.

"Remember to write to me." Nia stepped forward and gave Albert a hug.

"Once you find good friends at school, you'll forget about me."

"No way." The girl was a little unhappy.

"Okay, take care of yourself on your way to school."

"I'm not a child anymore, stop saying these things."

Herb and Daisy couldn't help but laugh. They both went up and gave Albert a hug, Daisy even kissed Albert on the forehead.

"Then I'm leaving."

When no one was paying attention, Albert pushed the cart through the wall.

At this time, not many students have arrived yet, and the platform is deserted, except for the Hogwarts train engine emitting white smoke.

Albert found an empty carriage in the middle section, went inside, closed the door, and then released Tom from the cage.

The fat cat, realizing it was in an unfamiliar place, seemed quite insecure. It sniffed around for a moment, then squatted down on the table in front of Albert, staring intently at him as if asking where Albert was taking it. Nearby, in its cage, Shera was shaking its head, looking at the back of Tom's head. If it weren't locked in a cage, it probably would have already given the fat cat a whack on the head.

Perhaps sensing that the back of his head was being targeted, Tom turned his head to stare at the owl shaking its head in the cage, licked his claws, jumped into Albert's arms, and meowed defiantly at the owl in the cage.

The owl in the cage started scratching at the cage with its claws, seemingly preparing to come out and peck the fat cat's head off.

"Okay, stop fooling around."

Albert quickly calmed the two pets to prevent them from causing a ruckus in the carriage.

Soon, the platform became lively as more and more wizards appeared, seeing children off onto the train or saying their final goodbyes to their children.

Albert peered out the window at the platform, searching for the boy with the Lightning Scar on his forehead.

Although he knew the chances of finding Harry Potter by doing this were slim, he didn't mind treating it as an activity to pass the time.

Just then, a sound caught Albert's attention. When he turned around, he saw Tom squatting in front of Shera's cage, slapping the cage with his claws and provoking the owl inside.

This is suicidal! Tom never dared to do this before. Does he know that Shera is locked in a cage and can't get out? Albert reached out to facepalm, deciding to separate the two before things get out of hand.

However, it was too late.

I don't know if Shera suddenly had a breakthrough, but she actually knew to use her claws to pry open the latch on the birdcage, kick the cage door open, and crawl out.

Before Tom could react, Shera had already stretched out her head and pecked at its head, causing chaos in the carriage.