I'm Serious About Growing Up

The Scamander family lived less than fifty meters from the Lorand family. After finishing her daily spell practice, Evita walked down the street, cheerfully greeting everything along the way.

"Hello, little flower."

"Hello, streetlamp."

"Hello, big tree."

Having thoroughly enjoyed amusing herself, Evita arrived home without incident and continued her greetings. "Hello, Mom."

"I'm not well," Adele teased her expressionlessly.

"Huh? What happened..."

Two round eggs were thrust into her hands, cutting Evita off. She looked down and asked like a wary little animal, "Are you asking me to cook?"

"Of course not. I don't want you poisoning me to death," Adele said. "Didn't you want to keep animals? I remembered I'd brought two back before. I've been looking after them, and now they're almost ready to hatch."

Feeling one of the eggs move in her hands, Evita immediately lowered her head and stared as it suddenly burst into flames that didn't burn her.

A minute later, the golden-red flames, bright as the sun, vanished, revealing a chick whose feathers hadn't fully grown in. It was wobbling as it tried to stand.

"Is this... a Phoenix?" Evita asked in disbelief. She knew that Adele, as a system, was still highly skilled even with some of her functions unavailable, and had reached the level of a master after studying Alchemy for just a few years, but...

"Where did you get a Phoenix?"

"India," Adele said calmly.

"But..." Evita tried calling to the young Phoenix. "Don't you have a mother of your own?"

The Phoenix, whose eyes hadn't even opened yet, chirped twice in a tiny voice. "Nope."

"The Phoenix... talked..." Evita looked up in a daze, but Adele asked in confusion, "What are you chirping about?"

"Me? Chirping?" Evita was bewildered. She tried talking to the Phoenix again, and girl and bird communicated perfectly well.

"It seems..." Adele walked around her twice. "When I created this body for you, I might have added some incredible settings."

"But I like this," Evita said.

The other egg rocked too, and with a crack, a small, wet, bright green snake crawled out and coiled around Evita's arm.

"Hello..." she said softly. "Fini, Echidna. Those will be your names."

The young Basilisk raised its head, its large eyes showing clear bewilderment. Evita could hear herself making a chilling hiss.

Adele handed her some food and a suitcase. "It has an Undetectable Extension Charm on it. I've also put quite a few alchemical machines inside, as well as a little cabin. You can keep the animals in there."

"Okay." Evita's eyes curved with a smile. "Thank you."

Adele waved a hand, paying it no mind, and simply asked, "Do you think I should write a paper about the automatic feeding machine in there and publish it?"

"Of course," Evita said as though it went without saying. "You might get some really good feedback."

Adele nodded and smiled.

Three months later, in February 1980, on a sunny afternoon, Evita's words came true.

Adele walked into the living room carrying the Daily Prophet. "Just as you said, my work has received Nicolas Flamel's recognition. I'm taking you to France so I can study under him."

Evita nodded solemnly. "Okay, but I need to say goodbye to Tina and Newt first."

"Finish today's Transfiguration practice before you go," Adele said teasingly.

Evita said, "Hmph."

Even so, she obediently went to practice, only to rush out suddenly half an hour later.

"What's wrong, Weiwei?" Tina asked.

"Grandma Tina," the girl said mournfully, drawing out each word, "Fini called me names. Bad Phoenix."

Tina: ?

Newt: !

Looking back over more than seventy years of life, he had only ever seen Professor Dumbledore with a Phoenix.

Newt asked with concern, "What did Fini call you?"

"Fini called me stupid," the girl said, sniffling. "Fini said the snuffbox I made was so big it didn't even have anywhere to hang a Kneazle."

She hugged the golden-red Phoenix tightly to her chest, her eyes brimming with tears.

Tina offered her a handkerchief and comforted the girl, holding back a laugh.

"And," Evita said quietly, "I'm going away for a while..."

"I know," Tina said gently. "Adele is taking you to France, isn't she? That's a wonderful thing, and you'll be back very soon."

Evita hung her head. She was a child now, and her body had completely affected her mindset.

"All right," she said reluctantly. "I'm really going now."

"Goodbye," Tina said, unable to suppress a laugh. "We'll all miss you."

Newt added, "Hobby, Milly, and Moler will miss you too."

Those three were Tina and Newt's Kneazles. Evita caught them one by one and gave each of them a kiss, and her mood improved again.

The trip to France went very smoothly. The Flamels were both kind, courteous old people, and they warmly welcomed Adele and her daughter.

Evita eagerly explored the Flamels' home. It was large, and the room prepared for her was very comfortable. Adele was going to study Alchemy under Nicolas Flamel, but Evita had less on her mind: she only needed to play with Perenelle without a care in the world.

Of course, Evita didn't forget to study either.

Looking carefully back over the past few years, she had had excellent teachers. Tina taught her spells, Newt's older brother Theseus taught her Dark Magic Defence through letters, and Newt guided her in Magizoology...

Now Evita also had access to the Flamels, who were skilled in Divination, Potions, Alchemy...

She was fascinated and settled into life in France like a fish in water. Mother and daughter now had the same teachers.

Adele remarked, "This is so strange... I'm your mother, your teacher, and your senior fellow student..."

"That just proves we're meant to stay together forever!" Evita said sweetly.

Adele turned her head away and fell silent. Her life had originated from data, and even her emotions were simulated, while her daughter Evita was an emotional being through and through.

Whether as a system or as a mother, she knew almost everything about Evita. She had even created both their identities in this world herself, and to this day, she still had to fill in their backgrounds from time to time.

Evita took Adele's hand and said she wanted to sleep with her.

"Okay..." Adele replied, looking straight ahead.

Because she had lacked energy after crossing over, and the bodies in her inventory hadn't been compatible with Evita, she'd had no choice but to create a new infant body and act as her guardian, raising Evita all over again, bit by bit, and watching her "daughter" become who she was now.

But... the first rule in the system handbook forbade forming emotional attachments to the host.