Courtship, Brother

Emily tilted her head and looked at Allen with a smile unlike her usual one. Her teeth showed, and her eyes were half narrowed. Though the smile was not as sweet as it normally was, it was very real—of everyone in the family, Emily liked Allen the most. Aside from the fact that, when she was little, Allen had been the most patient in answering all her questions, the main reason was that in front of Allen, she did not have to habitually pretend to be a good little girl. She could reveal some of the darker parts of herself. Allen had long since noticed some of her less-than-ladylike, less-than-kind behavior, but he had always been very tolerant, never exposing her or lecturing her about it.

"Allen, I've collected some magic books from different eras. I'll bring them to you after I go back to school." Emily's fingers scratched the plump belly of the Pygmy Puff, and the little creature meekly let her do as she pleased. "Actually, the reason Lenn has grown so fond of taking care of animals now is, to a large extent, because the power struggles and scheming in his daily work at the Ministry of Magic keep him from relaxing, and have even made him a little sick of it all. When he spends time with animals, the way they express emotions is direct. They aren't hypocritical or affected. If they like something, they like it; if they hate something, they hate it. That kind of sincere, natural communication makes Lenn feel at ease. While interacting with animals, he doesn't have to think. His mind can relax, and his exhausted heart finds comfort in them."

Allen tossed some more gold to the Niffler, only to discover that after it confirmed he would not hurt it,