Hogwarts Letter

On the fifth floor, after dealing with his emotional mother and siblings, Vaughn returned to his own room. He stared at the System Panel before him and fell into thought.

Since awakening the system, this was the first time he had seen a "quest."

Moreover, the quest did not seem to care whether he succeeded or failed. There was no penalty, only a reward for success.

And it was precisely that reward that caught his eye.

"Talent Points..."

Ever since the "Beginner's Gift Pack" had maxed out his Potions talent, allowing him to experience just how easy and miraculous it was to study and brew potions with 10 Talent Points, Vaughn had been looking forward to finding another way to improve his talents.

Not to mention the Magic Power Level!

As the name suggested, Magic Power Level referred to the total amount and intensity of magic power within a wizard. The higher one's Magic Power Level, the more powerful their spells would be and the more times they could cast them.

However, it could not simply be understood as a mana bar or spell power, because casting spells also consumed emotions, while a spell's strength was even more closely related to the caster's proficiency with it.

There were still two months until the quest was completed.

Vaughn stopped dwelling on it and closed the System Panel.

He then looked again at the Hogwarts letter in his hand. The first page was written in dignified script:

[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (President of the International Confederation of Wizards, First Class Order of Merlin, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot)

Dear Mr. Weasley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of required books and equipment.

The term begins on September 1. We await your reply by Owl no later than July 31.

Deputy Headmistress

Minerva McGonagall]

After finishing his reply at his desk, Vaughn sent it off to Hogwarts through the Weasley family's new Owl. Poor Old Errol was simply too old. A few years ago, while delivering potions brewed by Vaughn, he had nearly plunged into the Pond.

So, after Vaughn began earning money, he had let Errol retire and enjoy his old age. The old Owl now lived in the garden.

That had also been the first time Arthur and Molly accepted money from Vaughn.

Errol's age had left them helpless, and they could not even think of a reason to refuse.

The few times afterward had also been for renovations to the entire home. Their everyday expenses still relied entirely on Arthur's salary—they did not want their Children to develop resentment or estrangement over money.

Thinking of money, Vaughn flipped to the second page of the Letter Paper. Looking at the densely packed list of books and supplies, he could not help shaking his head.

"Looks like Ron will have to use Bill and Charlie's old things again. I hope that kid doesn't start crying!"

In fact, Ron was far more "tough" than Vaughn had imagined.

When Vaughn finished sending the letter and stepped out of his room, Ron was on the fourth floor where he lived, clutching his crumpled Hogwarts acceptance letter and pacing back and forth with his head held high.

Percy patted him on the shoulder and loudly encouraged him. "Ron, I knew Hogwarts would accept you!"

Ron lifted his chin even higher.

Vaughn rolled his eyes from upstairs. Just yesterday, when he passed the kitchen, he had heard Percy secretly discussing with their mother whether they should forge an acceptance letter to cheer Ron up if one did not arrive.

"To celebrate your upcoming enrollment at Hogwarts, how about I give you Scabbers?"

The sudden "happiness" left Ron at a loss.

He watched blankly as Percy pulled a mouse from his pocket, stuffed it into his arms, and then hurried away.

Leaning over the railing and watching the amusing scene, Vaughn heard two pairs of footsteps sneaking closer.

Needless to say, the only people in the house who would sneak around like that were Fred and George.

Sure enough, the next moment, the Twins sidled up beside him, copied his pose by leaning over the railing and looking downstairs, then spoke their "whispers" in booming voices. "I'd bet Percy has wanted to get rid of Scabbers for ages."

"That's right, George. Scabbers is old and ugly. He might drop dead at any moment."

"Poor Ron. He probably thinks Percy is parting with something precious!"

"Yeah, George. Why does such an idiot have to be our little brother?"

"I can't understand it either, Fred. Maybe Ron gave all his brains to our other little brother?"

The Twins laughed and traded lines, making Ron downstairs so furious that smoke nearly came out of his ears. He took the mouse from his arms, wanting to throw it away but unable to bear it.

In the end, he returned to his room in a sulk.

Having enjoyed the show, Vaughn smiled at the Twins, who were beating around the bush to flatter him. "Go on, what do you two want?"

The Twins exchanged a glance, looking a little embarrassed.

"You say it, George."

"You say it. You're the older brother."

"Oh—so now you remember who the older brother is!"

After a few more jokes, the Twins saw that Vaughn was still smiling and knew they could not fool him. So they moved to either side of him, one kneading his shoulders and the other pounding his legs as they said:

"Um—dear Vaughn, you'll be going to Hogwarts soon, so you'll definitely have to go to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies, right?"

"Mum said you could afford all your own things. We knew you had money before..."

"But we didn't know you had this much money. If... if it's convenient, could you invest in some more materials for us?"

"Just a little! Our great Joke Workshop enterprise is short of just this little bit!"

Watching the normally mischievous, lawless Twins bend for Gold Galleons, Vaughn found it utterly amusing.

But he also knew that Molly had always forbidden them from doing research because she meant well. She was worried they would go astray.

So over the past few years, even though the Twins had secretly borrowed money from him, he had never opened the floodgates. The Twins had always assumed he only earned a few Sickles—until today.

Buying everything on the school list, including books, supplies, and a pet, would cost at least a hundred Gold Galleons.

To the Twins, that was already a fortune!

While enjoying the Twins' massage, Vaughn hummed. "Last time you borrowed 10 Sickles from me, you said the same thing."

"That was last time. Our first Joke Props item is about to be finished, right, Fred?"

"That's right, George!"

Seeing that the Twins truly looked serious, and deciding he had teased them enough, Vaughn stroked his chin. "Hmm... the garden needs cleaning tomorrow..."

Before he could finish, the Twins eagerly jumped in. "How could we possibly trouble you with such hard work as cleaning the garden?"

"That's right, we'll handle it!"

"...I was going to give it to Ron, Fred."

"This is our sincerity, George!"

"That makes sense!"

Seeing the two of them blinking expectantly at him from either side, Vaughn waved his hands repeatedly. "All right, all right. We'll see how you perform tomorrow!"

Watching the Twins cheer and race downstairs, Vaughn shook his head. After standing there and thinking for a moment, he still went to Ron's door and knocked.

Not long after, the door was yanked open.

Still sulking, Ron puffed out his cheeks, trying to look fierce but sounding timid. "W-what is it?"

"Ron, come with me to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

Ron's lips moved as though he wanted to argue, but he had always felt inferior before Vaughn and could never muster the courage. After a long while, he finally said sulkily, "Why do I have to go? I already have secondhand stuff!"

"Oh—" Vaughn shrugged and said regretfully, "I was thinking of giving you your Christmas present early this year. For example, a new Wand. But it seems you don't—"

Before he could finish, Ron shouted, "I'll go!"

"Hmm?"

Even Ron's freckles had turned red as he stammered, "I-I'll go... I can buy some mouse food for Scabbers while I'm there..."

Vaughn's gaze passed over Ron's shoulder. In the messy room behind him, the mouse was gnawing on a biscuit atop the desk.

Completely absorbed!

Vaughn deliberately looked interested. "Speaking of Scabbers, I used to ask Percy to give him to me. He's old and ugly anyway, so why not give him to me as my Potions Test Rat? What do you think, Ron? Want to consider it?"

Inside the room, Scabbers's rustling biscuit-chewing abruptly froze.

Ron's eyes widened, and his lips trembled. For a moment, he could not say a word.

If he had heard Vaughn make such an outrageous request a minute ago, he would definitely have yelled and screamed, summoned his courage, and driven this awful-tempered brother out.

But now...

There's a new Wand... this...

Fortunately, he did not have to struggle for long. Seeing Scabbers begin secretly inching toward the edge of the desk, Vaughn did not want to truly scare him away. He patted Ron's shoulder and laughed. "I'm joking. A mouse that small would be killed by one mouthful of potion." Scabbers began trembling all over. "Remember not to sleep in tomorrow. That's all!"

Ron let out a long breath. Only after watching Vaughn go upstairs did he hurriedly run back into his room and scoop up Scabbers.

"Oh, Scabbers, don't be scared, don't be scared. He was just trying to frighten us..."

Outside the door, at the turn in the Stairs, Vaughn stared at Ron's door with a cold sneer.

Hmph. I'll spare that fellow's mouse life for a while longer!