Return and Test Flight

After searching for quite a while,

Jerry found not only a Flying Broom that still looked fairly new, but also several rather impressive magic books:

"Common Spells and Disarming," "Outsmarting Dark Magic," "Collection of Self-Defense Spells," and "Fighting Poison with Poison Collection."

They counted as an unexpected gain from this trip.

Of course, on a pockmarked Wizard bust, he also saw the legendary Ravenclaw's Diadem—one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.

But he did not pay much attention to it.

That thing was completely useless to him right now. Not only did he lack the ability to destroy it, but taking it would also expose him to the influence of Voldemort's soul within. It was better to leave it alone.

"It's already midnight!"

He had not expected time to pass so quickly while he was rummaging around.

Jerry hurriedly gripped the Flying Broom in his left hand. In his right, he held his wand and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans he had set aside beforehand, while hugging the magic books to his chest as he waited for midnight to arrive.

Due to an insufficient number of Little Red Stars, forced return will begin. Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 73, 2, 1.

As the Peculiar Panel displayed its prompt, the entire world once again fell into a state of stillness.

"Jerry, why are you holding such a strange broom and wooden stick? And those... what kind of books are those?"

When Jerry opened his eyes again, he had returned to his home in Queens, New York.

At the same time, however, he heard his little sister Elsa's puzzled voice beside him.

Next time I enter the Small World, I need to make sure no one's around!

Sitting on the sofa with the Flying Broom, wand, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and magic books in hand, Jerry looked at his wide-eyed sister and silently made up his mind.

"This broom is something I bought today to clean my room. This wooden stick is... it's a tool I bought specifically for stirring soup. As for these books..."

Seeing the suspicion in Elsa's eyes, an idea immediately came to him, and he smiled.

"These books are the Elementary School Math Encyclopedia I bought especially for you, so you won't be bored during summer vacation!"

"What? Jerry, what did you say? Ow, you actually ambushed me... You actually cast Sleep Magic on this queen..."

The moment Elsa heard anything related to math, her reaction was incredibly fast. She stopped watching TV and leaped off the sofa.

Then, clutching her head, she staggered as though she had cast Lingbo Weibu, rushed into her room, and slammed the door shut.

Jerry's lips twitched. Carrying the Flying Broom and magic books, he turned off the TV and returned to his room.

He knew his sister's greatest weakness: math. Ever since she had started school, she had never once passed the subject, so Elsa absolutely hated it.

Whenever Jerry tried to tutor his sister in math, something like today would happen—he would suddenly be struck by all sorts of magic.

It was eight in the evening. Hass was on the night shift today and would not be coming home to sleep, so the moment Jerry returned to his room, he went straight to bed.

When the Alarm Clock rang at midnight, he opened his eyes, took the Flying Broom, and quietly left the residential complex.

Avoiding any pedestrians he might encounter and the cameras everywhere, Jerry cautiously made his way to an abandoned factory he had discovered during an earlier patrol.

It was not that he was being overly cautious. It was just that the power of technology could not be underestimated sometimes.

In a modern city covered with cameras, if anyone found even the slightest trace, it would be easy for them to uncover his true identity.

After entering the factory, Jerry pulled down the hood of his sweatshirt and took the Flying Broom out of a large black plastic bag.

"Cleansweep Three!"

Looking at the words marked on the Flying Broom, he knew it was already an extremely outdated model.

A few days ago, because he had been considering the matter of Flying Brooms, he had specifically borrowed a book called "The Origin and Development History of Flying Brooms," as well as another called "Flying Broom Preliminary User Guide," from the library.

The Cleansweep Three was part of the Cleansweep Series developed by the Cleansweep Broom Company. It had been released in 1937, which meant that the broom he had taken from the Room of Requirement was already several decades old.

But perhaps because it had not been used much, it did not look too old.

"Erpu!"

Jerry placed the Flying Broom on the ground, recalled the incantation he had learned from "Flying Broom Preliminary User Guide," and slowly extended his right hand.

The magic within him spread out through his right hand along with the incantation, forming a close connection with the Flying Broom on the ground.

The Flying Broom happily rolled over on the floor, then... did not move.

"..."

Jerry twitched his brow speechlessly.

It seemed that not only was his aptitude for learning magic poor, he had no talent for Flying Brooms either.

He had previously been full of confidence, thinking that if he ever took a Flying Broom lesson, he would definitely crush Harry and become the coolest guy in class. Now, it seemed he had been too hasty.

His body was powerful, and if he could control a Flying Broom in the air, he would certainly be extremely agile. But the prerequisite was that he first had to make the Flying Broom fly.

Mind Refresh activated!

Not wanting to waste time, Jerry directly entered Superman Form. With his superpowered brain, he began repeatedly practicing the Flying Broom control incantation, rapidly improving his proficiency.

With the help of Refreshing Mind, it took him less than five minutes to completely master the technique for controlling a Flying Broom.

Since he only had a little over thirty Little Red Stars left, he immediately stopped consuming them once he had mastered the technique.

"Erpu!"

He chanted the incantation again, and this time, the Flying Broom smoothly landed in his right hand.

Mounting the broom, Jerry made it rise into the air with a thought.

"Go!"

At his command, the Flying Broom slowly accelerated and flew toward the other end of the warehouse. Just as he was about to crash into the wall, he sharply pulled upward. The Flying Broom narrowly avoided it and flew back the other way.

"Haha, nice! Very nice!"

Jerry flew around the warehouse on the Cleansweep Three, having the time of his life.

A man's happiness was that simple. Even though Jerry's soul was nearly forty years old, riding a broom that could freely soar through the air was still an incredibly joyful experience.

As people reached middle age, the pressures and responsibilities of life made them increasingly mature and steady.

But in reality, when they were alone or with peers who shared their interests, one would find that they could still show a rather childish side.

After excitedly flying wildly up, down, left, and right through the warehouse—and nearly crashing into the ceiling several times because he lost control—Jerry finally completely mastered the use of the Flying Broom.

"It's time to try it outside!"

Checking the time, he saw that it was not yet one o'clock. Jerry changed out of his sweatshirt, put on the Wizard Suit he had brought with him, picked up his wand and Flying Broom, and walked out of the warehouse.