A Night of Magic

Late at night, on Tiber Avenue, the lights in the second-floor window of No. 19 Resident were still on.

Albert quickly read through the book's contents and casually raised Rapid Memory to level 2. His memory had improved considerably. Ordinary people did not have such an ability; at the very least, none of them could match Albert's memory.

Just now, Albert had discovered another unfamiliar skill: Wizarding Bloodline, level 0.

Ordinary experience could not level up this skill. It could only be upgraded with Skill Points.

It was the first time he had encountered such a situation. After hesitating for a moment, Albert still raised Wizarding Bloodline to level 1.

After upgrading the skill, Albert found that he learned magic more efficiently. Or rather, his Magical Power had grown stronger. He mastered Lumos faster, and after only a dozen minutes of practice, he had raised the skill to level 1.

This meant Albert had initially mastered the spell. Even without deliberately focusing, he could cast it with ease.

Should he put all his Skill Points into it? Albert hesitated. Skill Points were difficult to obtain, and he needed to save some for himself.

Yet after wavering again and again, when he put in his remaining two Skill Points, he found that it could only rise by one level. What a scam! After raising Wizarding Bloodline to level 2, Albert did not feel any other changes.

Was it a passive skill? Albert felt a little depressed, but he did not regret it. He left his room and began trying the Unlocking Charm.

He held his wand in one hand and opened "Standard Book of Spells, Beginner" with the other. Following the gestures taught in the book, he lightly flicked his wand twice. The motion resembled a backward S, and it felt rather awkward.

After trying a few more times, Albert locked the door from the inside and cast Alohomora on his own doorknob.

Albert reached out and twisted it a few times, but the lock did not open.

He had failed.

Although failure was expected, there was still good news: another Unlocking Charm had appeared on the panel. This time, however, there was no experience.

"Albert, what are you doing?" A girl's voice came from behind him. Nia, dressed in pajamas, appeared at the end of the hallway.

Albert turned to look at his younger sister. He knew exactly how she felt now, as though she had caught a thief sneaking sweets.

"Why aren't you asleep yet?" Albert asked.

"I can't sleep!" Nia complained. "You're so sneaky. You really were secretly practicing magic."

Albert felt a little embarrassed, but that was indeed what he had been doing. It was like being caught stealing... ahem, stealing desserts. He felt rather guilty.

"I want to play too!" Nia stared fixedly at Albert's wand.

"But this isn't a toy!" Albert shook his head. He would not let his sister use the wand.

Children had the least self-control and did things according to their whims. No one knew what kind of trouble she might cause.

Of course, that was assuming Nia was also a witch.

After all, Albert himself was a wizard, so there was a high chance that Nia was one too. That was why he would not let her casually try using a wand, at least not yet.

"You're so sneaky. Aren't you secretly playing with it yourself?" Nia complained, like a child whose toy had been taken away.

"Aren't you going back to sleep?" Albert changed the subject.

"No, I can't sleep."

"Then I'll tell you a story!" Albert took out his key, unlocked the door, and went back inside.

"Albert is so sneaky!" Nia muttered, but she still picked up Tom and followed Albert into his room.

As soon as Tom entered the room, he began sniffing everywhere, seemingly searching for the owl. He had a strong objection to the birdcage by the window.

"Alright, Tom, Shera went out to hunt!" Albert picked up the shorthair cat and rubbed its belly. Then, not forgetting, he put his wand into the drawer and locked it. He slipped the key into his pocket as if guarding against a thief. Albert knew his sister's personality far too well.

"How annoying! Do you really have to guard against me like I'm a thief?" Nia pouted unhappily.

"Do you think I don't know you?" Albert rolled his eyes at Nia. "If you got hold of the wand, wouldn't you blow up our house?"

"I wouldn't!" Nia said stubbornly.

"Who knows whether you would or not? Don't forget how you got those scratches on your arm." Albert did not want to test it. "Don't make promises to me. I have no desire to see you suddenly lose an arm one day, or worse, lose your life."

"That won't happen." Nia sounded a little guilty.

Back then, it had indeed been a similar situation. Not long after Tom had arrived at their home, she had treated him roughly and been scratched. She still remembered Albert getting angry and scolding her.

It was the first time Nia had ever seen Albert angry.

"Don't forget the lesson." Albert asked, "Do you still want to hear a story?"

"Fine!" Nia leaned against the cushion, stroked Tom's fur, and quietly listened as Albert told her a fairy tale. He was already very practiced at it. He had done it before to practice speaking and improve his English. After all, he was not truly British at heart. Though he had been influenced by his surroundings after crossing over, he was still somewhat lacking in that regard.

It was worth mentioning that he had also picked up another foreign language. He had raised his French to level 1 with experience as well. Albert was considered a genius for good reason.

"Albert, do you think I'll be able to use magic in the future?" Nia suddenly asked.

"Probably. I can use magic, so Nia should be able to as well," Albert reassured her.

"That's because you're a genius. You learn everything quickly."

"What does that have to do with being a genius?" Albert was speechless. "We're siblings. If I can do it, you should be able to as well."

"But Grandfather can't. He said everyone in his family could, except him," Nia murmured. "And Dad can't either."

Herb was innocently caught in the crossfire.

"Even if you can't use magic, you can still do other things," Albert comforted her.

"You're so sneaky. You can already use magic, yet you're still saying things like that to comfort people. Tom, hit him." Nia grabbed Tom's paw and placed it against Albert's face.

As the night grew deeper, Nia gradually fell asleep.

The door was pushed open, and Daisy and Herb entered in their pajamas. They looked helplessly at their sleeping daughter.

"She's finally asleep." Herb picked up Nia and carried her back to her room.

"Good night, Albert. Rest early and don't stay up late. You can read the book tomorrow," Daisy said softly, kissing Albert on the cheek. "Your father and I won't object to your decision."

"Good night." Albert stifled a yawn and nudged Tom. The fellow merely lazily rolled over, apparently with no intention of moving.

"Forget it. Good night, Tom." Albert pushed the cat aside, adjusted his pillow, found a comfortable position, and lay down to rest. He was already exhausted too.

Still, when all was said and done, magic really was a wondrous thing.