A Different Birthday

Aivina estimated that Manus would need half a year to master Occlumency well enough to hold out for ten rounds, but Manus felt that estimate could be trimmed a little.

He could not slow down his meditation progress just to make himself seem more ordinary. Meditation was unlike magical research; if one project was postponed, he could not simply study something else first.

During childhood, it was not only the body that developed rapidly—the mind did as well. Making up for every missed day required vast resources, many of which Manus was not even sure he could find in this world.

And if Manus continued meditating without missing a day, then by then, with the strength of his mind, even if he gave up resisting, Aivina would be unable to read any of his emotions while maintaining Legilimency at its lowest intensity...

Then no matter how exhausted he made himself look on the surface, it would seem terribly fake.

Since Aivina had already accepted that he was a genius, he might as well act a little more like one. As long as he was not the sort of genius who transcended an era, geniuses who were simply more outstanding than their peers were not all that rare.

Not necessarily every year, but at least one would appear every few years. Manus only needed to keep the right balance.

As it happened, he was very close to a normal little wizard his own age, and they lived nearby...

Three months passed in a flash. As the heavy Christmas atmosphere faded a little, the first day of the new year arrived as scheduled, and Manus welcomed his seventh birthday.

This birthday was vastly different from every birthday Manus had celebrated before, because this time he would return to the King Family Ancestral Home for it.

This was a tradition of the King Family—or rather, of Pure-blood wizarding families. After each descendant experienced a Magical Outburst and was confirmed to be capable of becoming a wizard, their first birthday celebration afterward would be held rather formally.

The meaning was roughly to send a signal to other families: from today onward, this child was a recognized member of our family, and would also be a member of our circle of interests in the future.

Most young wizards experienced Magical Outbursts between the ages of six and eight, so such birthdays were generally concentrated around the ages of seven, eight, and nine. Of course, some were delayed, but it was rarer to move them earlier.

To protect Manus, and also to prevent him from coming into contact with Charms knowledge too early, Griffin had not specifically told Manus's grandfather that Manus had already experienced a Magical Outburst.

It was not until half a year ago, when he received a letter from Manus's grandfather asking about Manus, that Griffin mentioned in his reply that Manus had already experienced a Magical Outburst.

The next day, Manus encountered a magical item called a Howler.

His grandfather's voice, which had appeared only a few times in his memories when he was very young, burst from the letter, folded and transformed into the shape of a mouth, fiercely condemning Griffin's irresponsibility.

Why had he not written to tell them immediately about something so important?

If he had not taken the initiative to write and ask, would Griffin have waited until Manus's birthday was almost here before sending a letter home, leaving the family to hurriedly prepare a birthday banquet and send invitations to the other families?

The old man seemed not to have considered that Manus's family lived in a Muggle residential area. His booming voice was amplified more than tenfold by the magic on the Howler, reaching a truly ear-splitting level.

The force of the sound waves even caused a burst of panic among the surrounding neighbors.

Griffin had no choice but to rush out and give all the neighbors a round of Obliviate. It was a spell used to erase memories.

"Things are finally getting better!"

Manus was extremely pleased by this.

With Aivina teaching him Occlumency, although he still could not formally come into contact with Charms knowledge, an opening had finally been made. The frequency with which magic appeared around him had finally risen to a normal level.

At the very least, it had reached what he believed to be the normal frequency of magic in a family that knew magic.

At the same time, the strength of the magic being used had finally increased. It was no longer limited to Muggle-repelling spells or magic used to light a fire in the fireplace.

"Manu, are you ready?"

Aivina's voice came from downstairs, yet it sounded as though she were calling from right outside Manus's door.

After the Howler incident, Griffin had tried to make amends by adding a layer of soundproofing magic to the house.

As a result, whenever Aivina simply needed to call up to Manus on the second floor, she would usually choose to use magic to amplify her voice rather than climb one flight of stairs to speak to him.

"I'll be ready in a moment, Mom!"

In response, Manus used Prestidigitation to create the sound of himself calling back loudly from the doorway, rather than shouting at the top of his lungs.

After making final adjustments to details such as his collar, cuffs, and hem in the mirror by the door, Manus opened it and went downstairs. At the entryway, he looked at Griffin and Aivina, who were already waiting for him.

Outside, the sky was somewhat dim, and fine snow drifted through the air. It was not that night was about to fall, but that dawn had not fully arrived.

Though it was called a birthday banquet, its symbolic significance and social value were clearly the real focus. Naturally, Manus's family would not arrive just in time for the meal. They might not even get more than a few bites after the banquet ended, and they had to go early to prepare.

Of course, for Manus, who had only turned seven today, such matters had little to do with him. He could treat the banquet as an actual banquet.

The flying carriage soared into the sky. After racing through clouds and snow for more than ten minutes, it slowly descended. The King Family Ancestral Home was not far from Griffin's new house.

Of course, Britain as a whole did not seem very large.

Once the carriage came to a stop, Griffin brushed the snow from his clothes and lifted the curtain for Aivina and Manus to get down.

"This is the King Family Ancestral Home. It may not look very grand, but it has a long history... after all, it is an 'ancestral' home, haha."

As he said it, Griffin could not help laughing himself.

Manus turned to look. Before him stood a flat-roofed building at least three stories high, with a fairly large footprint, built from dark gray stone. Several stone pillars before the entrance and the walls were covered in Boston ivy.

Judging by the traces on the building, its last renovation had probably only been two or three centuries ago. It was not actually as dilapidated as Griffin had implied.

Still, it truly was not particularly luxurious... at least, there was still a huge gap between it and the noble estates Manus remembered.

Through the not-very-clean windows, the people inside had clearly noticed their arrival.

"Look who's back? Griffin, my son, after all these years, I'm so glad you still haven't forgotten where home is!"