Unforeseen Disaster

Luke somehow managed to soothe Nia and calm his sulking granddaughter down.

Over the next few days, Herb and Daisy returned to work, while Albert and Nia stayed on Charles Street for the Summer vacation.

Albert shared the contents of History of Magic and other books with the two elders, demonstrated the magic he had mastered in front of them, and even spent some Galleons to order a set of Wizard's Chess from Weasley Is Our King, studying how to play with Luke.

At first, Nia was startled by Wizard's Chess, but she quickly grew fond of the game.

Of course, the result was that no one wanted to play Albert anymore, because his chess skills had clearly surpassed everyone else's.

Wizard's Chess was actually the same as regular chess, except the pieces were alive. You usually needed a Password to command them, making it more like directing an army into battle.

If you reached out and picked them up, the pieces would jab your hand with their weapons.

Ordinary people could use it too, of course, but they could not command the pieces very well. The pieces seemed to have minds of their own, constantly chattering and complaining, saying things like, "Do you even know how to play chess? Don't send me there—send the pawn. It doesn't matter if you sacrifice it."

Albert progressed quickly in his magical studies. During this period, he also completed the "Luke's Regret" quest and gained 1,500 experience points.

The experience pool had accumulated thirty thousand points again. It looked like a lot, but in truth, it was nowhere near enough.

The higher a skill's level, the harder it became to improve. Later on, he could only level up by consuming experience from the pool or using Skill Points.

"Albert, are you sure this leaf will float?" Nia kept staring at the leaf, but it had not reacted at all.

"I think the gesture was wrong." Albert was a little frustrated. Wrist movements were just as important when casting spells. Sometimes, a single incorrect movement or an improperly pronounced incantation could cause magic to fail. It was a mistake beginners often made.

With no one to teach him, he could only slowly figure things out himself, or use the experience in the pool to raise the skill to Level 1 and master it directly.

Albert would choose the former. He would only consider the latter when he truly could not master something. He was not too concerned about a Levitation Charm; it was not particularly difficult to learn.

"So magic really isn't that easy to learn." Nia admired Albert's patience a little. At least, she did not have that much patience for this sort of thing.

"Of course. It's like learning math—you have to take it step by step." Albert pushed his sister on the swing and casually comforted her. "Don't give up until the very end."

"Ugh, that kind of comforting talk again. I'm sick of hearing it." Nia pouted, though she was still happy.

In truth, Nia had guessed that she might genuinely lack the talent to become a wizard. After talking with Grandfather last time, she no longer cared as much about it.

When there were not many people left in the park, Albert tried the Levitation Charm again. This time, he succeeded. After reciting Wingardium Leviosa, the leaf floated into the air.

At that moment, Albert noticed someone watching from nearby. He put away his wand, looked in the direction he sensed the gaze from, and fixed his eyes on the person staring over. It was a boy slightly older than him.

"Something wrong?" Albert raised an eyebrow and asked the boy walking toward them.

To be honest, Albert was not afraid of the other boy trying to cause trouble. His Karate had reached Level 2; even without a wand, he could knock an ordinary person to the ground.

Albert had learned Karate when he was eight, mainly to deal with troublesome brats. Especially after he made three children cry in a fight at school, everyone there knew that Albert Anderson knew Karate—and was very good at it.

Daisy had been called to the school and scolded by the teacher over it, but she had firmly stood by Albert's side and called her husband over as well.

The couple fully displayed their talents as Lawyers, leaving everyone speechless.

What else could anyone say? The three children had all been older than Albert. If they could not beat him, how did they still have the nerve to run crying to the teacher?

In the end, the matter was dropped.

It was also then that Albert truly accepted this family.

"You're... a new student at Hogwarts? Don't try magic in a place like this. Someone might see you. Ordinary people fear the power of magic." The boy stared in surprise at the leaf floating in midair. He had not expected to meet a First Year who had not even started school yet, much less one who had successfully made a leaf float.

"Thank you. I'll be careful." Albert could tell that the other boy meant no harm. He thanked him and prepared to leave with his sister.

"I'm Gabriel—Gabriel Truman, a Hufflepuff student. I live nearby." Gabriel Truman kindly offered Albert his hand. "You're a First Year, right? I hope you'll come to Hufflepuff."

"Hufflepuff?" Albert asked, pretending to be confused.

"Oh, right. You don't know about the Four Houses or the Sorting Ceremony yet." Truman had just started to say something when he saw an owl fly over and drop a letter at his feet.

"Why would there be an owl at this time?" Truman picked up the letter in confusion and opened it in front of Albert. His expression froze, and his face immediately turned ugly. Nia noticed the shift in the atmosphere and quickly hid behind Albert.

"What's wrong?" Albert also sensed that something was off and asked cautiously.

"A hearing... expulsion... How could this happen? Why?" Truman's face was filled with confusion and bewilderment. He could not understand why the Ministry of Magic had sent him a letter saying that he had violated the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry by using a Levitation Charm in front of Muggles, that he needed to appear before the Ministry for a hearing, and that he faced the risk of being expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Yes, it was you. It had to be you." The moment Truman saw Albert, he understood what had happened. He lunged at the First Year in front of him like a madman, only to suddenly feel the world spin as the child younger than him threw him to the ground.

The next instant, pain shot through Truman's wrist, and he could not help screaming.

"Calm down. It's not as bad as you think." Albert had already guessed the reason from Truman's words. This Unlucky one might be at risk of getting expelled.

"I didn't use the Levitation Charm at all!" Truman roared furiously. "I didn't even bring my wand."

"I know. I was the one who used the spell." Albert calmly reminded him, "Maybe we should write to the school and explain what happened. If necessary, I'll testify for you. Don't worry, they won't expel you so easily. We should write now—one letter each—and explain the situation to the headmaster. Do you have an owl?"

"No." Truman looked a little dejected. He realized that he was somehow less calm than the other boy.

"Albert, it's Shera." Nia pointed at the owl flying toward them.

"Looks like Shera knew we needed her. Owls really are magical creatures." Albert could not help sighing.

The idea that wands carried the Trace came from Harry Potter fanfiction.