Apology

Sean slowly reached his hand into the cage. He had no idea how to win this challenge, but it probably would not require him to kill his opponent. Otherwise, it would not be called a challenge.

As Sean's hand gradually drew closer, the White Snake Kulkan's vigilance rose to its peak. The instant Sean's hand had nearly reached halfway into the cage, Kulkan shot forward like an arrow, immediately biting at the hand that had entered its attack range!

Kulkan was incredibly fast. Even though Sean had been prepared, he still failed to evade Kulkan's bite and was bitten on the back of his hand.

Sean sucked in a sharp breath and gritted his teeth. Not only did he refuse to retreat, he reached out with his other hand and clamped it around both sides of Kulkan's head. Kulkan twisted its body in response, coiling around Sean's wrist as its jaws tightened further around the back of his hand.

Sean did not use any force. He simply continued holding Kulkan's head and suppressing it.

Time passed bit by bit. Concern was clearly written across Yad and Martha's faces, and even the plump witch could not help wanting to stop Sean. If anything seriously happened to his hand, even if they did not hold her responsible, she would still face plenty of trouble.

Just as the three adults were about to intervene in this contest of strength.

A faint smile suddenly appeared on Sean's face.

Duel won. Randomly acquiring one ability from the Duel opponent.

Drawing...

Drawing complete. Obtained: Serpent Affinity LV3

The instant he obtained Serpent Affinity LV3, Kulkan, which had been biting Sean's hand, slowly released its jaws. It looked at the wound on Sean's hand, then gently rubbed its head against his fingers, expressing closeness and apology.

Sean gently stroked Kulkan's head, allowing it to crawl up his arm and onto his shoulder. It wrapped itself around Sean's neck like a necklace, lightly nuzzling his cheek.

Sean had originally thought that winning might grant him Parseltongue, but Serpent Affinity was not bad either. He only wanted a pet in the first place. Parseltongue was rather useless—nice to have, but no great loss if he did not.

At worst, he could find more snakes to trigger Duels with, or find a chance to Duel Harry Potter a few more times. Sooner or later, he would grind out Parseltongue.

"You actually tamed it. That's truly astonishing."

The plump witch had been ready to separate Sean and Kulkan herself, but she had never expected Sean to truly tame Kulkan, the White Snake that had been in the shop for years.

They brought Kulkan to the counter. The plump witch used potions and magic to treat Sean's wound. By the time Sean's family of three paid and walked out of the Magical Menagerie, only four dot-like scars remained on the back of his hand. They would disappear completely before long.

Sean reached up and touched Kulkan around his neck, then happily left Diagon Alley and returned home with his parents.

"Sean, have Rob and Kulkan been fed?"

Hearing his mother busy in the kitchen, Sean, who was sitting at the dining table, replied, "They have. Rob and Kulkan are both asleep. The trip back from Diagon Alley wasn't short, so they're tired too."

"All right, then let's eat as well."

When Sean had brought Rob and Kulkan home, he had worried that the two little fellows—one an Owl and one a snake—might clash. But they ignored each other. Rob, being such a large bird, probably looked down on Kulkan, who was not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, so he paid no attention to the long white snake at all.

"Sean, Hogwarts starts on September 1st. There are only about half a month left now. Have you prepared everything you need to bring?"

After taking a bite of his mother's roast beef, Sean wiped his mouth and said, "Everything's ready, Mom. You don't need to worry. Even if I forget something, I can have Rob bring it to me. He's an Eagle Owl and can carry very heavy things."

"That's true. Hogwarts has House-elves, so I'm not worried about your daily life. But you must get along well with the others. Don't be like you were at your ordinary school before. Hogwarts students all have magic, and you can't guarantee they won't cast spells on you behind your back."

Although Sean's parents could not use magic, they were not Muggles but Squibs. They had grown up in a magical environment. Though they had never attended Hogwarts, they still knew a fair amount about Hogwarts and the Magical World.

Many things that parents from Muggle families worried about did not concern Yad and Martha. Yet the things many Muggle parents did not worry about because they did not understand them were precisely what concerned Yad and Martha the most.

More than halfway through dinner, Martha brought over three desserts.

The dessert was Apple Pie. Sean had not been used to it when he first started eating it, but as he grew older, he gradually came to appreciate its flavor. It had instead become one of his favorite desserts.

While they were eating pie, someone suddenly knocked on the living room window.

The three of them looked toward the window and saw a brown Owl standing there, clutching a palm-sized parcel in its talons.

"A wizard's Owl? Who sent us something?"

Yad got up and opened the window. The brown Owl immediately hopped inside and let Yad remove the item from its claws. Just as Yad was about to find it something to eat and drink, it turned around and flew back out the window. Without lingering, it quickly departed from Sean's home.

"It really is well trained." Sean had already guessed who had sent the package, but he did not say so directly. Instead, he let Yad open it.

The parcel contained a palm-sized box. Yad took out a letter and a Pure White Pocket Watch. The instant Sean saw the Pure White Pocket Watch, he knew his guess had been right. The parcel had indeed been sent by his grandfather, Gavin.

Yad looked at the letter in his hand and frowned slightly before passing it to Sean. "Sean, this package was sent by your grandfather. This letter... you should read it too."

Ever since Sean's magic had erupted, Yad had felt that his son seemed to have matured greatly. Sean's views on many matters were remarkably mature, so Yad was happy to share many things with him and hear his thoughts.

Sean did not take the letter. Instead, he took the Pure White Pocket Watch.

"I assume the letter is Grandfather's apology for what happened in Diagon Alley? And this Pure White Pocket Watch is probably a gift to make amends?"

Yad paused, then nodded slightly. "That's right. You guessed correctly."

"All right, I understand. I know what this Pure White Pocket Watch means, so I'll accept it for now. Dad, Mom, you can rest easy too. Right now, I'm just a child who hasn't even gone to Hogwarts yet. No matter what, Grandfather won't have any schemes against me. You can relax."

"All right. As long as you understand."

Sean nodded to his father and mother, then returned to his room with the Pure White Pocket Watch.

Putting everything else aside, this Pure White Pocket Watch alone was truly a rare magical item!

It almost made Sean think that his grandfather genuinely wanted to compensate him—and compensate his father.