Wand Permit

Outstanding girls always attract men's attention. During her school days, Catherine never lacked suitors and was the envy of countless girls. However, she knew that most of the boys who pursued her were driven by vanity and a desire to show off.

Finally free from the swarm of fly-like suitors, Catherine and Nicholas arrived at the International Floo Network waiting room. They were a few minutes late because people kept greeting her on the way, but it seemed that the other party had not yet arrived in the United States through the International Floo Network.

Nicholas was asking Mr. Nathan, an old acquaintance, for news.

"A few minutes' delay is normal; I've never seen anyone be on time." Employee Nathan wasn't surprised at all by the delay in France. He had been working here for several years and had seen this kind of thing many times. "You can't expect staff from other countries to be on time, and besides, there's always a slight discrepancy between the schedules of both sides."

A tiny error? She waited a full half hour. Catherine felt her patience was being rapidly worn down, especially with that annoying guy named Carter next to her, always trying to strike up a conversation with her.

I clearly rejected him back in school.

At that moment, a noise came from the fireplace leading to Europe. A very young-looking boy almost fell into the fireplace, seemingly unaccustomed to using the International Floo Network.

"Mr. Anderson?" Nicholas reached out and helped the boy out of the fireplace, asking tentatively, "You are younger than I imagined."

"I'm sorry, there was a slight delay on the France side, so the time has been postponed by half an hour."

Hearing someone call his name, Albert turned to look at the old man in front of him, compared him to the person in the photograph in his memory, and then extended his hand to shake hands with Nicholas, saying, "Hello, Mr. Nicholas. This must be Miss Catherine; she is even more beautiful than she appears in the photograph."

"You know me?" Catherine raised an eyebrow.

To be honest, she was very surprised. The boy in front of her, who was called Mr. Anderson, looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Was he really the legendary heir of Wildsmith?

Didn't they say that all the heirs are already adults?

"Mr. Sella showed me your picture and said you are a genius. Of course, I think your beauty is in no way inferior to your talent."

Albert was indeed a little surprised; this Miss Catherine was very beautiful, in no way inferior to the Delacour girls who had Veela blood.

Catherine noticed that Albert quickly looked away and realized that this young man was different from the other men who flattered her; what he had just said was a sincere compliment.

This generous praise greatly improved Catherine's mood while she waited.

"Welcome to United States, Mr. Anderson."

Catherine glanced at Carter, who had just bothered her, stepped forward and gave Albert a polite kiss, then introduced herself with a smile, "I am Catherine, Nicholas's granddaughter."

"Are all United States girls this enthusiastic?" Albert muttered under his breath, somewhat taken aback.

He never considered himself Galleon, the lovable one. He quickly realized the reason from an unfriendly gaze and frowned.

Perhaps because his attire stood out in the waiting room of the International Floo Network, several wizards nearby cast curious glances at him.

However, Sera soon appeared in the fireplace, and after a brief hug with Nicholas, she said with a smile, "This trip has been quite a ordeal. The France pulled some tricks to keep us for another half hour."

Just then, an untimely voice rang out from the side.

"Gentlemen, please register here."

The Ministry of Ministry of Magic staff member who had just given them an unfriendly look said to Albert and Sera, "According to the regulations of the American Magical Congress, all members of the magical society in the United States (including citizens and tourists) are required to carry Wand Permit. Please get a temporary pass here."

With that, he led the two to the counter next door to obtain temporary Wand Permit.

Albert looked at the other person and frowned slightly, because he felt that this person did not seem very friendly. He couldn't help but glance at Miss Catherine next to him, and he could roughly guess what was going on.

"This guy is insane!" he muttered.

After seeing Sera complete the Wand Permit, Albert heard a voice in his ear, "I'm sorry, sir, you're still a minor!"

Albert noticed a slight upturn at the corners of the other person's mouth and frowned slightly, staring at him expressionlessly as he waited for him to finish speaking.

"In the United States, underage wizards are not allowed to possess wands."

"I know, but that's United States," Albert reminded him.

"Yes." The man did not deny it, and said softly, "According to the rules, I'm afraid I cannot issue you Wand Permit. Your wand will have to be kept by the Ministry of Magic for the time being."

"Oh," Albert suddenly asked, "If the American Ministry of Magic loses a wand, will it compensate for it?"

"What?"

"I mean, if a wand kept at the American Ministry of Magic is lost or damaged, will the Ministry of Magic compensate for it?" Albert repeated.

"We won't... get lost." The man's expression was a little stiff.

"So, you won't pay compensation, right?" Albert suddenly said.

"If you are not willing to hand over your wand to the Ministry of Magic for safekeeping, we are afraid you will not be welcome." Carter's expression was a little strange.

"Oh, can you represent the entire American Ministry of Magic?"

"Sorry, these are the rules, please don't make things difficult for me." Carter's smile became increasingly fake.

"You're deliberately making things difficult for me." Albert handed the wand directly to Carter and said calmly, "Because I didn't bring a wand at all. This is just a souvenir gift from a friend when I was in France. It's just a piece of wood that looks like a wand, with a signature at the end."

Carter looked at the AA spell coming from the wand handle, his expression growing increasingly grim. He seemed unconvinced and swung the wand a few more times, but to no avail.

Albert's wand, along with the Wizard's Chess Championship Trophy, had been sent back to Britain not long ago, because he had predicted something from his crystal ball the night before and had sent all his magical items back to Britain.

"You've misunderstood from the beginning," Albert said calmly. "If you don't believe me, you can check for yourselves. Of course, you should apologize properly afterward."

Seeing the other person's expression that suggested he could inspect the items at will, Carter felt even worse than if he'd swallowed a fly; the other person was clearly convinced he couldn't find the wand.

Catherine looked at Carter's increasingly contorted face, her expression growing ever more bizarre.

In the end, the Ministry of Magic still conducted an inspection.

Albert ordered a cup of Assam Black Tea.

At the time, the American Ministry of Magic did not intend to invite him for tea and planned to send him away directly.

Albert briefly mentioned that he had just won the International Wizard's Chess Competition, and that reporters back home would certainly be interested in his trip to the United States.

In response, the American Ministry of Magic had to reluctantly apologize for their rudeness.

The four of them drank black tea for half an hour in the drawing room of the American Ministry of Magic before leaving.

"Why would you do that?" Catherine asked, frowning.

"I don't think you would Legilimency!" Albert suddenly said. "So you didn't see the malice in that guy's eyes. I dare say that if I had left the wand there, it might have broken or been lost by accident."

"As for why, it's because of the kiss you gave me back then. That idiot is now blinded by jealousy, but that's normal. Ninety percent of the people working in the Ministry of Magic are like that."

"I haven't had a chance to teach Catherine Occlumency and Legilimency yet," Nicholas explained, noting that he could tell Mr. Anderson was highly skilled in Legilimency.

"Now I understand why nobody wants to come to United States," Albert said, turning to Sera. "I'm afraid I won't come to United States either."