Date

Su Yu got up fairly early that day, though he dressed casually. He changed into a sweatshirt he rarely wore, with a logo on the chest that even he did not recognize. He looked at himself in the mirror twice, decided it was fine, and went downstairs.

Today was his date with Sister Fa. They were going to Disneyland in France, which he had heard had only opened that April.

Nine-Tailed Fox did not want to get up so early, so she had returned to Su Yu's body to continue sleeping. Su Yu could even feel her turn over in the soul space before drifting back to sleep.

Sister Fa had arrived at Foley Manor two days ago.

Carson had warmly welcomed Sister Fa as though he were greeting the future mistress of the house. He stood at the manor gates for over half an hour, and when her car arrived, he personally stepped forward to open the door. He bowed far deeper than usual, and his voice was half an octave higher than normal. He had even arranged for a bouquet of white roses in Sister Fa's room, a small box of handmade chocolates on the bedside table, a full set of toiletries in the bathroom, and even a freshly unwrapped bathrobe.

Such grand treatment made even the usually proud Sister Fa feel a little shy. She entered the house with a blush on her face.

But Sister Fa was especially beautiful that day.

She wore a black spaghetti-strap dress, its hem ending just above her knees and revealing a stretch of fair calves. On her feet were black high heels with slender heels, clicking crisply as she walked. Her hair hung loose in large waves over her shoulders, one side tucked behind her ear to reveal a silver earring. Her lips were coated with a muted rose lipstick, neither too dark nor too light, making her pale skin seem to glow.

Su Yu could not take his eyes off her.

Sister Fa noticed his gaze. Her lips curved slightly, but she said nothing. She simply walked over and slipped her arm through his.

After breakfast, they went to the fireplace in the main hall.

Su Yu took a pinch of glittering powder from a flowerpot nearby and scattered it over the flames. With a loud bang, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher and higher, eventually towering above Su Yu. Green flames churned inside the fireplace.

Su Yu stepped in first and shouted, "Marne-la-Vallée!" Then he vanished.

Sister Fa followed behind him and did the same. As she stepped into the flames, she glanced back at Carson. Carson gave a slight bow, his expression carrying the benevolent message of "Have fun."

Sister Fa blushed again, hurriedly called out the destination, and vanished into the green flames.

When Su Yu opened his eyes again, he was already on a magical street in Marne-la-Vallée, near Paris, France. The street was bustling with people. It was a little wider than Diagon Alley, and French signs hung over the shops on both sides. Su Yu only recognized "Boulangerie" and "Pâtisserie"; he could not make much sense of the rest. The air was filled with the scent of fresh bread and coffee, mixed with lavender drifting out from one of the shops.

The sports car Carson had arranged was already waiting for them at the end of the street. It was a silver convertible, polished to a shine and gleaming beneath the sun. The driver was a French man in his forties, dressed in a dark blue suit and sunglasses. When he saw Su Yu and Sister Fa emerge from the magical street, he removed his sunglasses and nodded at them.

Sister Fa kept her arm hooked through Su Yu's as they walked out of the magical street. Her heels clicked against the ground, cool and decisive.

By the time Su Yu emerged from the magical street, he had transformed into an adult. Chakra's Transformation Technique was far more useful than magic. Polyjuice Potion had to be drunk once every hour—hadn't Barty Crouch Jr. practically drunk it like water? Su Yu felt that Snape had nearly been plucked bald from all the brewing during that time.

He now looked about twenty-three or twenty-four. His shoulders were broader, and his jawline more defined. Sister Fa glanced at him, her lips curling upward, but she said nothing. The hand looped around his arm tightened slightly.

After confirming Su Yu and Sister Fa's identities, the driver handed the keys to Su Yu and left.

Then Su Yu elegantly opened the sports car door. Sister Fa held his arm as she got in, her movements entirely natural.

The two leisurely drove toward Disneyland. Su Yu opened the convertible top, and the wind rushed in, blowing Sister Fa's hair behind her. She reached up to gather it, failed, and simply gave up. Squinting, she leaned back against her seat with a smile on her lips.

However, Nine-Tailed Fox, who had just woken up and come out, was instantly blown away by the wind while rubbing her eyes.

Before Su Yu could react, he heard a scream—not Sister Fa's, but Nine-Tailed Fox's. She flipped twice through the air, her four little legs kicking wildly. Her nine tails were nearly blown straight like helicopter blades, and her entire fox body looked like a furry ball that had been flung away, flying farther and farther.

Sister Fa let out a scream, immediately raised her wand, and used Accio to pull Nine-Tailed Fox back. Nine-Tailed Fox shot back like a cannonball and crashed into Sister Fa's arms, knocking her backward. Su Yu quickly reached out to steady her.

Nine-Tailed Fox opened her mouth and bit Su Yu.

Su Yu immediately apologized. He truly had not noticed Nine-Tailed Fox coming out. Pressing his palms together and bowing his head, he said, "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I really didn't mean to! I didn't know you'd suddenly come out, so I opened the roof—"

Nine-Tailed Fox bit down on the back of his hand. She did not use much force, but she ground her teeth against him several times before letting go. Her fur was puffed up, her eyes wide and round, and her tails flared into a ball. Her whole body—her whole fox self—looked as though she had been struck by lightning.

But because of the commotion, the car had begun swerving all over the road. A passing driver started cursing at them—in French. Su Yu could not understand it, but judging from the man's tone and expression, it was probably nothing nice. One hand remained on the steering wheel while the other gestured furiously. His face was bright red, and words spilled rapidly from his mouth. Su Yu did not understand a single one, but he thought it had a pretty good rhythm.

Only then did the car settle down and drive steadily again.

Sister Fa held Nine-Tailed Fox and kept smoothing her fur, stroking from the top of her head to the tips of her tails again and again. Nine-Tailed Fox's fur slowly stopped bristling, but her eyes remained wide, her lips pressed tightly together, and she refused to say a word. Su Yu kept apologizing to her.

Nine-Tailed Fox turned her face away and ignored him.

Even after they entered Disneyland, Nine-Tailed Fox still ignored Su Yu. She hid in Sister Fa's arms, burying her face in the crook of her elbow and exposing only her two ears.

It was not until Su Yu bought her an ice cream that she wiggled her way back into his arms. It was strawberry-flavored, with a wafer stuck into the top and cream piped into the shape of flower petals. Nine-Tailed Fox held onto Su Yu's hand with her little paws and licked the ice cream in tiny bites, her amber eyes narrowing into slits. Her tails swayed behind her, her fur lay smooth again, and her anger had vanished.

Su Yu fed Nine-Tailed Fox while holding Sister Fa as they rode the park train. The little train slowly made its way around the park, and the moment was indescribably pleasant.

Then they rode Pirates of the Caribbean. They sat in a small boat, Caribbean-style scenery on either side, fake pirates singing and fake skeletons fighting. When water splashed up, Sister Fa instinctively leaned toward Su Yu, and he wrapped an arm around her. Nine-Tailed Fox crouched at the bow, soaked from head to toe.

They could not visit Robinson's House—the line was too long. Sister Fa took one look at the endless queue and said, "Forget it." Su Yu said, "Sure." Then the two headed for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Since there was no special seat for Nine-Tailed Fox on the roller coaster, she lay at the very front. Su Yu wanted to hold her, but she refused. She jumped onto the railing at the front of the car herself, crouching on all fours with her tails hanging down, looking as though she were saying, I'm not scared.

Then the ride started, and the wind whipped that fox face into a complete mess. Her ears flipped backward, her lips were blown open to reveal two rows of sharp teeth, and her eyes widened like bronze bells. Terrified, Nine-Tailed Fox's paws slipped. Her whole body recoiled backward, and she dove headfirst into Su Yu's arms, burying her face in his hoodie and refusing to come out. Sister Fa also gripped Su Yu's hand tightly, her nails nearly digging into the back of it. Enduring the pain, Su Yu held Sister Fa with his left arm and shielded Nine-Tailed Fox with his right as the roller coaster charged wildly along its track.

When they got off, Sister Fa's hair had been blown into disarray, and Nine-Tailed Fox's fur was puffed up as well. Only Su Yu stood beside them completely unscathed.

After tiring themselves out, they went to the shops on Main Street, U.S.A. and bought a great many things. Sister Fa took a liking to a scarf, tried three colors, and eventually bought the dark blue one. She also bought a beige beret, put it on and looked in the mirror, then took it off and placed it in the bag. She picked out a bracelet for Hermione, a small shoulder bag for Daphne, and a fountain pen for Sister Ka. Su Yu followed behind, pushing the shopping basket, while Nine-Tailed Fox crouched inside it and stared hungrily at a Mickey Mouse plush toy.

They put everything into Su Yu's storage ring. Its two cubic meters of space were more than half full.

At noon, they ate barbecue at Cowboy Cookout Barbecue. The sauce on the grilled pork ribs was sweet and spicy, while the corn on the cob was coated in butter. The smell was so good that Nine-Tailed Fox poked her head out of Su Yu's arms. Sister Fa cut off a piece of steak and fed it to Su Yu with her fork. Su Yu opened his mouth, chewed twice, and said, "Delicious."

It was not until the sun was about to set that the three returned to the Pullman Montparnasse Hotel in Paris.

Su Yu sat before the floor-to-ceiling window on the thirty-first floor, drinking red wine as he overlooked Paris at night. The Eiffel Tower glowed in the distance, while the Seine River had become a black ribbon in the darkness, dotted with scattered lights. Traffic moved slowly along the streets, taillights trailing lines of red. There were not as many stars in the sky as there were at Hogwarts, but the city lights had a beauty of their own.

He sighed. This was what life was supposed to be.

Nine-Tailed Fox ate the macarons and opera cake in the room, her little mouth smeared all over with chocolate. The opera cake was layered in neat tiers. She started nibbling from the top, and by the time she reached the bottom, her face was covered in chocolate.

Sister Fa soaked in a rose bath while casting flirtatious looks at Su Yu. She lay draped over the edge of the tub, her wet hair resting against her shoulders. Droplets slid down from her shoulders, gleaming beneath the light.

"Chief," Sister Fa said in a lazily seductive voice, "don't you want to come in and join me?"

Su Yu could no longer hold himself back, his wolfish nature erupting. He set his wineglass on the coffee table. Nine-Tailed Fox lifted her head from the cake to glance at him, then lowered it again and continued eating.

They played in Paris for an entire week. They visited the Louvre Museum and the Eiffel Tower, taking the elevator all the way to the top. They also took a cruise on the Seine River. Nine-Tailed Fox lay over the boat railing, the wind blowing her fur back as she squinted her eyes, looking quite content.

They visited the Palace of Versailles, Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and Montmartre. Sister Fa took photos everywhere with a Muggle camera.

Before leaving, Sister Fa bought many luxury goods for Hermione, Daphne, and Sister Ka. When they came out of a shop on the Champs-Élysées, Sister Fa carried several bags, and Su Yu's ring was stuffed full as well. Sister Fa chose everything carefully and asked Su Yu's opinion on every item.

Naturally, she had prepared several things for Ginny too. There was a light blue Hermès scarf patterned with little horses—Ginny would definitely like it—as well as several other things. Sister Fa packed these separately in one bag and handed it to Su Yu.

She had also seen what happened at the station that day. She did not say much, merely reminding Su Yu to remember to give the girl gifts the next time he saw her.

Su Yu smiled sheepishly and held Sister Fa's arm a little tighter.

Sister Fa leaned against his shoulder without saying anything, a smile curving her lips.

A few days later, Sister Ka arrived as well.

Butler Carson was even happier. He laid out a red carpet at the manor gates—Su Yu had no idea where he got it, but there it was. When Sister Ka stepped out of the car, Carson bowed as deeply as he had when Sister Fa arrived, though the smile on his face was even more obvious. He had white roses placed in Sister Ka's room as well, replaced the chocolates by the bed with macarons, and changed the bathrobe in the bathroom to a silk one.

Carson stood in the hallway, watching Su Yu lead Sister Ka upstairs. The flush on his face did not fade for a long time. This meant that the Fawley family would flourish from now on!!

He calculated in his heart that the young master was only a first-year student and had already brought back two. By seventh year... he did not dare think any further, but the smile never left his face.

Over the following days, the three began traveling through countries across Europe. Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands—at every stop, they stayed for two or three days, saw the local sights, ate local food, and bought local souvenirs. Sister Fa's and Sister Ka's suitcases soon could not hold any more, so everything was stuffed into Su Yu's ring.

Su Yu sent Hermione and Daphne many photos. Group photos in front of the Colosseum, selfies on snowy Swiss mountains, candid shots aboard gondolas in Venice. Hermione replied with a long string of exclamation marks every time, followed by a barrage of envious and jealous remarks. She swore that Su Yu would have to take her along someday too.

Daphne's replies were always long and nagging. She wrote huge paragraphs telling him to keep warm and not catch a cold, to stay safe and not return too late, and to watch what he ate and not have too many cold foods. Sister Fa laughed when she saw them, and Sister Ka laughed too, so the two teasingly called Daphne Su Yu's stepmother.

But he kept every letter Daphne sent him. He never threw any of them away.